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Sen. Mar Roxas discussed with
Director General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization Friday
the ongoing efforts to bring down the costs of medicines in the
country through amendments to the Intellectual Property Code.
Roxas, author
of Senate Bill 2263 on affordable medicines and chairman of the
Senate Committees on Economic Affairs and on Trade and Commerce,
said allowing countries the chance to import lower-priced quality
medicines from their neighbors is an example of how governments
could optimize globalization to benefit the poor.
“I informed
the head of the WTO that this legislation is in accordance with the
Doha Round and TRIPS Agreement and conforms to existing practices
followed by other countries,” Roxas said.
Lamy noted
that the country was flexible enough to change previous rules to
suit social needs.
Senate Bill
2263 was approved before the end of the regular session. Its House
counterpart, HB 6035, was approved on February 20 on second reading
in a controversial session where members of Congress ordered
lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry to leave the gallery.
Roxas and Lamy
also discussed Asean economic integration, which the WTO chief said
was impressive, as well as the need to curb the smuggling of goods
across porous borders. “The government has not done enough to stop
smuggling through our porous borders,” Roxas said.
“The
challenge is on how to fight smuggling and differentiate legal trade
from underground trade which drives some people to go against the
idea of globalization,” Roxas told Lamy.
Lamy said the
WTO is reflecting on whether informal trade should be put on its
program.
The two
officials also discussed the direction of the WTO regarding ongoing
trade talks in keeping with the Doha Development Agenda.
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