Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company
The New
York Times
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September 18, 1999, Saturday, Late Edition -
Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 8; Column
6; Foreign Desk
LENGTH: 700 words
HEADLINE: South Africa And U.S. End
Dispute Over Drugs
BYLINE: By STEVEN LEE
MYERS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Sept. 17
BODY:
The United States and South
Africa have reached an agreement aimed at resolving a looming
trade dispute over the production of patented drugs to treat
AIDS, the Administration announced today.
The United
States trade representative, Charlene Barshefsky, announced that South
Africa had pledged to abide by World Trade Organization rules
when it enacts a new law intended to make it easier to import and produce the
drugs locally at lower costs.
The United States, in turn, pledged to
drop its demands that South Africa ease parts of the law that
had prompted a legal challenge by American and international pharmaceutical
companies that blocked the law.
Ms. Barshefsky also indicated the
Administration would step back from a review process that could have led to
trade sanctions against South Africa.
Although the
dispute involved arcane, complex trade and patent practices, it generated
considerable attention because advocates for AIDS patients have
staged noisy protests at several campaign appearances by Vice President Al Gore,
including the speech in June when he officially announced his candidacy.
Mr. Gore became a focus because meetings with South
Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, and the advocates blamed him
for Ms. Barshefsky's tough trade stance against South Africa.
Protesters said that Mr. Gore was the Clinton Administration's point man
in helping the pharmaceutical industry make money off AIDS
drugs. About 300 protesters gathered in Philadelphia in June to chant "Gore's
greed kills!"
"The Vice President is pleased this issue has been
resolved," a spokesman, Thomas M. Rosshirt, said. "He is eager to continue his
work with President Mbeki to confront the crisis of AIDS in
Africa and around the world."
The law at the heart of
the issue was passed in 1997 with the hopes of giving South Africa's
AIDS patients access to less expensive versions of drugs to treat the
AIDS virus, which inflicts an estimated 6 million of the
country's 44 million people.
The law would apply to all medicines, but
the focus of the dispute has been on AIDS since
AIDS drugs are so expensive that they are out of reach of most
South Africans.
A coalition of American, European and other
pharmaceutical companies have challenged the law in South African courts, saying
it infringed on their pharmaceutical patents.
The most contentious parts
of the law involved two provisions to lower the price of AIDS
drugs. The first would allow the import of commercial drugs from third countries
where they are available at a lower cost, a practice known as parallel
importing.
The second, called compulsory licensing,
would allow the South African Government to license local companies to make
generic versions of the drugs.
The World Trade Organization allows both
practices under certain conditions, but the pharmaceutical companies, backed by
the Administration, opposed them.
An American trade official said today
that the law was written too broadly and could allow abuses; the official said
the Administration was willing to back down from its position now that South
Africa has pledged in a letter to strictly abide by the trade
organization's conditions.
Eric L. Sawyer, a spokesman for Act-Up, the
advocacy group that has been organizing the protests against Mr. Gore, welcomed
the decision, calling it a concession by the Administration that was "a positive
step" toward making AIDS drugs more accessible.
"It
shows Vice President Gore has been listening to us," he said.
The
agreement announced today does not resolve the ultimate status of the law, which
has not taken effect pending the pharmaceutical companies' legal challenge.
Last week the companies announced they would suspend their challenge and
seek a negotiated settlement. South Africa's Health Minister,
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has said the country was considering redrafting the
law.
"I am hopeful that this suspension, coupled with progress made
between our two governments, will enable all interested parties to develop the
best possible approach to addressing this serious situation, while protecting
international property rights," Ms. Barshefsky said in announcing today's
agreement.
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LOAD-DATE: September 18, 1999
