Copyright 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
May 11, 2000, Thursday, FIVE STAR LIFT
EDITION
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. A10
LENGTH: 473 words
HEADLINE:
CLINTON EXECUTIVE ORDER SEEKS TO HELP AFRICAN NATIONS FIGHT
AIDS;
U.S. WON'T PRESS STRICT RULES ON INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY;
MEASURE WAS CUT FROM TRADE BILL
BYLINE: The Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
President Bill Clinton issued an executive order Wednesday to make
it easier for AIDS-ravaged Africa to get
inexpensive drugs and medical technology.
The president took the action
after language nearly identical to that in the order was taken out of an African
trade bill that Congress is likely to pass and send to the White House this
week.
The order states that the U.S. government will not seek to
overturn any intellectual property law or policy imposed by a
sub-Saharan African government that promotes access to pharmaceuticals and
medical technology for HIV and AIDS.
"Given the
devastating impact of AIDS, the United States will not require
or negotiate restrictive rules in the intellectual property
rights area," said U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. But she said
the administration remained committed to protecting basic intellectual
property rights.
The pharmaceutical industry agrees with the
president on the need for incentives to develop new medicine to treat
AIDS, said Alan Holmer, president of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America.
But he criticized the executive
order for adopting a "discriminatory approach to intellectual
property laws" and focusing exclusively on pharmaceuticals. "We
recognize that AIDS is a major problem, but weakening
intellectual property rights is not the solution."
Proposing the AIDS drugs amendment to the trade bill
were Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Russ Feingold of
Wisconsin. Feinstein praised the executive order as "the right thing to do."
She said it struck a balance between the need of African nations for
access to AIDS drugs and the need to ensure that
intellectual property is protected.
She said the order
conformed to World Trade Organization rules that give countries flexibility in
addressing public health concerns, such as giving the countries access to cheap,
generic AIDS drugs.
The order also states that U.S.
policy seeks to encourage sub-Saharan African nations to take steps to address
the underlying causes of the epidemic, and that the United States should work
with individual countries to assist them in developing effective public
education campaigns.
Overall, about 34 million people in sub-Saharan
Africa have been infected with the disease. In addition, 11.5
million have died, representing 83 percent of the world's total
AIDS-related deaths.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott,
R-Miss., criticized the president Tuesday for his intention to substitute
Feinstein's amendment with an ex ecutive order.
"There seems to be a
pattern now of him doing executive orders that exceed what he should be doing,"
Lott said at a news conference. "That should be done legislatively. He doesn't
make the laws. And so I would hope that he would be careful about doing that."
LOAD-DATE: May 11, 2000
