HC Deb 26 February 2001 vol 363 cc413-4W
Ms Glenda Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is on the reform of WTO's TRIPs Agreement to improve poor people's access to essential drugs and medicines. [150969]

Dr. Howells

The Government are actively involved in helping to improve poor people's access to health care, including essential drugs. However, the TRIPs Agreement does not concern 95 per cent. of the essential drugs recommended by the World Health Organisation since they are patent free.

The TRIPs Agreement requires WTO member states to provide minimum standards of intellectual property protection, including patents, in their domestic legislation. We believe the agreement provides WTO members with sufficient flexibility to develop domestic intellectual property rights regimes that enable access to on-patent medicines, while ensuring adequate intellectual property protection to encourage investment, research and innovation, including for future medicines.

The recent White Paper "Eliminating World Poverty: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor" announced a Commission on Intellectual Property, to look at ways that intellectual property rules need to develop in the future to take greater account of the interests of developing countries and poor people.

In addition there are a range of policy ideas currently being examined as part of a Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) study which will address the twin problems of how to improve incentives to accelerate the development and availability of effective health interventions to tackle HIV-AIDS, TB and malaria; and how to ensure that new and existing health interventions are widely affordable in developing countries.

Ms Glenda Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the implementation of the WTO' s TRIPs Agreement. [150968]

Dr. Howells

The United Kingdom participated in reviews of developed country WTO Members' TRIPs implementing legislation carried out by the TRIPs Council throughout 1996 and 1997. Records of introductory statements made by the United Kingdom delegation, questions put to the United Kingdom delegation and the responses given were published by the WTO in four documents with references IP/Q/GBR/1, IP/Q2/GBR/1, IP/Q3/GBR/1 and IP/Q4/GBR/1. All of these documents are available to the public on the WTO website, www.wto.org.

Following the end in January 2000 of the transitional period for the implementation of the TRIPs Agreement by developing country WTO Members the TRIPs Council commenced reviews of those Members' implementing legislation in June 2000. In two sessions the Council has reviewed the legislation of 21 developing country Members who had volunteered for early consideration. In three further sessions during 2001 the remaining developing country Members' legislation will be reviewed.

Least developed country Members have a further transition period ending in 2006 in which to implement the terms of the TRIPs Agreement.