Is This The Return Of U.S. ‘Gunboat Diplomacy’ Serving Foreign Corporations?

[pampango]

1. "Issuing generic drugs is consistent with WTO treaties and the U.S. trade agreement."

In February, President Barack Obama committed $450 million to aid peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist rebel group known as FARC. The money would help the Colombian government fight the illegal drug trade and retrain FARC members.

But in an April 27 memo, Colombian diplomat Andrés Flórez said he was worried the U.S. would withhold peace funding if the Colombian government lowered prices on the drug Gleevec, also sold as Glivec. The memo was first posted by the think tank Knowledge Ecology International.

“Given the direct link that exists between a significant group of members of Congress and the pharmaceutical industry in the United States, the case of GLIVEC is susceptible to escalate to the point that it could impair the approval of the financing of the new initiative “Paz Colombia” as well as become an issue in the framework of the free-trade treaty.”

Good article, eridani. Thanks for posting it.

Glad that Obama provided funding to help the peace talks in Columbia. I don't blame Columbia for being worried about "the direct link that exists between a significant group of members of Congress and the pharmaceutical industry in the United States". It exists.

I wonder if "the approval of the financing of the new initiative “Paz Colombia”' has to go through congress (in which case that 'direct link' will be a major factor) or whether Obama's funding of the peace initiative is a discretionary expenditure he can make without congressional approval. Orrin Hatch (he of the VERY direct link to Big Pharma) is unhappy with the relevant section of the TPP and is demanding further negotiations. I doubt he will be happy with Columbia in this case even if what Columbia is doing is consistent with WHO, WTO and trade agreement rules. Following international law, if it benefits poor people in foreign countries, is not something that is high on Hatch's priorities list.

I don't blame that Columbian diplomat for being 'worried' and 'concerned' even if not direct threats have been made yet.