MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'free trade'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:54:38 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139697&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs0GZFEFvci8%2F By Sallie JamesPresidential Candidate Ron Paul has a decidedly mixed record on trade policy. He often votes against trade agreements because he sees them as “managed trade” and  an interference with true free trade. Well, ok, but that’ s like voting against income tax cuts because you think the IRS shouldn’t exist. I get the point, but c’mon… In any event, he was the only participant in Thursday night’s debate between the Republican presidential candidates who spoke about trade with any sense at all. As Inside US Trade [subscription required] points out, trade policy was not a prominent theme of the debate, but that didn’t stop Mitt Romney from (again) spouting nonsense about balanced trade: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney late las... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139697 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:16:35 +0100 5139697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086559&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fo0atlcygBx4%2F Three years after a dispute erupted over the seizure by EU authorities of Indian-made generics as they were being shipped through Europe, India and the European Commission have struck an interim deal that restricts the 27 member EU states from seizing meds unless there is evidence that drugs will be diverted in the European Union, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office in India. The seizures were made after EU authorities in various countries, starting with The Netherlands, maintained the generics violated intellectual property rights and were, therefore, counterfeit. The actions infuriated Indian generic drugmakers, because exporters would be forced to find alternative routes to send shipments, which would increase costs and hurt competitiveness (back story). Pati... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086559 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:36:50 +0100 5086559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5078029&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FErKoEEBgvYc%2F A group of 40 members of the House of Representatives have written President Obama urging the Trans Pacific Partnership talks currently under way should include a requirement that countries offer 12 years of data exclusivity for new biologics. The missive is the latest move by the pharmaceutical industry to create what it calls parity with US law. “The US-led biopharmaceutical industry would be disadvantaged if the US does not ensure consistency with US law as part of the TPP, because foreign countries do not provide the same type of protection rules,” according to the July 27 letter, which PhRMA is circulating. The trade group has also distributed this document as part of its lobbying campaign. You may recall that brand-name drugmakers won a 12-year exclusivity period as part of a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5078029 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:16:56 +0100 5078029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975825&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs2-Usb210eI%2F By Sallie JamesSen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,  Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and the White House have just announced that they have made a deal to extend Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA, the program that extends extra unemployment and health care benefits to workers who lose their jobs because of globalization) until 2013, as part of a broader deal that would see passage of the three outstanding preferential trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The extension of TAA would be included in the legislation to implement the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, “improved” (i.e., made less liberalizing) by the administration in December. Interestingly and alarmingly, because implementing the FTAs... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975825 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:17:38 +0100 4975825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953367&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F50CZuCTdRlE%2F Once again, US trade talks and the behind-the-scenes role being played by the pharmaceutical industry are making headlines. This time, the ruckus is taking place in New Zealand, where there are mounting concerns about the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, or TPP, which is a trade agreement that aims to integrate eight economies of the Asia-Pacific region. Among the issues is the extent to which the TTP would move beyond intellectual property standards in the World Trade Organization’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, or TRIPS agreement (back story). The US Trade Representative, with backing from 28 US Senators and pharma, is also reportedly taking a hard line on Pharmac, the government entity that manages access to medicines in New Zealand, and reimbursement practices. ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953367 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:14:31 +0100 4953367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921750&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FMKmkri7wsTU%2F Adding his voice to a growing chorus of criticism over US trade policy on pharmaceuticals, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has written a stern letter to US President Barack Obama to complain that recent efforts by the US Trade Representative to negotiate various trade agreements could threaten healthcare programs serving vulnerable populations in the US. Specifically, he cites negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, or TPP, which is a free trade agreement that aims to integrate the economies of the Asia-Pacific region. The talks have included proposals based on an earlier trade agreement with South Korea that he and others fear could restrict pricing procedures used by federal and state programs in the US, such as Medicare. How so? US agencies and state governments negotia... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921750 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:27:13 +0100 4921750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911457&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvV-HK1K8LpU%2F By Daniel GriswoldDo trade agreements promote trade? The answer appears to be yes. In a new Cato Free Trade Bulletin released today, I examine the record of trade agreements the United States has signed with 14 other nations during the past decade. The impact of those agreements on U.S. trade is a timely subject because Congress may soon consider pending free-trade agreements (FTAs) with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. Opponents of such deals often argue that they open the U.S. economy to unfair competition from low-wage countries, displacing U.S. manufacturing. Advocates argue the agreements do open the U.S. market further to imports, but they open markets abroad even wider for U.S. exports. Based on actual post-agreement trade flows, I found that both total imports and exports with th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911457 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:22:16 +0100 4911457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862505&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fm92vhIhzrek%2F By Daniel IkensonThe Washington Post ran a story in yesterday’s print edition about the U.S. antidumping order against Wooden Bedroom Furniture from China—a case I described seven years ago as the “Poster Child for [Antidumping] Reform” because its sordid details explode the myths upon which rest the rationalizations for the law’s existence. Those details are nowhere to be found in the WP article, which was published, presumably, to make a few other points.  One such point—the only one with which I agree—is that antidumping duties aren’t very effective at restoring or preserving U.S. jobs.  As the article demonstrates, since the imposition of AD duties on Chinese furniture beginning in 2005, imports from Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries not subject to the AD restri... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862505 Wed, 25 May 2011 19:05:02 +0100 4862505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789203&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fl0GNcXjeCls%2F By Daniel GriswoldOur friends at the Economic Policy Institute are at it again, issuing another study this week that shows some particular trade agreement has costs X thousands of jobs over a certain number of years. The latest target of EPI’s flawed model is the North American Free Trade Agreement. Enacted in 1994, NAFTA has created a free trade zone comprising the United States, Canada, and Mexico. According to the EPI report, U.S. trade deficits with Mexico as of 2010 displaced production that could have supported 682,900 U.S. jobs; given the pre-NAFTA trade surplus, all of those jobs have been lost or displaced since NAFTA. This estimate of 682,900 net jobs displaced takes into account the additional jobs created by exports to Mexico. The report’s author, Robert Scott, claims it f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789203 Fri, 06 May 2011 01:40:06 +0100 4789203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775600&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F4q1xogmJvpw%2F The PhRMA trade group is urging the US Trade Representative to go beyond provisions contained in the Korea-US trade deal, known as KORUS, and include 12 years of data exclusivity for biologics in the Trans-Pacific Partnerships talks that are under way, according to Inside US Trade. The push contrasts with a White House proposal earlier this year to shrink exclusivity to seven years from 12 years, a move that would roll back a provision in health care reform. You may recall that brand-name drugmakers won a 12-year exclusivity period last year as part of an effort to create a so-called FDA approval pathway for biosimilars. Generic drugmakers, of course, wanted a shorter term. The issue is new, however, for US trade agreements. Drugmakers usually want the USTR to replicate patent provisions ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775600 Mon, 02 May 2011 23:38:31 +0100 4775600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684270&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpKlx44gYfOU%2F By Daniel GriswoldTo no great surprise, the Obama administration announced today that it has cut a deal with the government of Colombia to address concerns about labor protections and to finally move toward enacting the long-stalled free-trade agreement between our two countries. This is welcome news for trade expansion and for strengthening our ties to a key Latin American ally. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to arrive later this week in Washington to cement the deal. In exchange for the agreement, Colombia has reportedly agreed to expand its efforts to protect union members from violence and to more vigorously prosecute those responsible. As my Cato colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo and I documented in a Cato study earlier this year, concerns about labor protections were ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684270 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:54:59 +0100 4684270 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684274&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCEIDqKmv1ug%2F By George Scoville It's time for a little less hubris. It's time for a government shutdown. It's time to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. It's time for an adult conversation on the federal budget, and Chairman Ryan's plan is a good start. It's time to rethink our strategy in Afghanistan: Wednesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684274 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:46:04 +0100 4684274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4677109&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fr0Fv99YQmK0%2F Rise and shine, everyone. Another day is on the way. And it is a sunny one here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where the short people have left for the local school house and the official Pharmalot mascots are barking at squirrels. You know what this means - it is time for a cup of stimulation. Our flavor today is Southern Pecan. Please join us as we scour the news of the world. Have a great day and do send us those interesting tidbits…. Gilead Raises Prices Of Top-Selling Meds (Dow Jones) J&J Hepatitis C Drug Price Sparks Concern In France (Bloomberg News) Bayer To Consolidate And Add Jobs In New Jersey (The Daily Record) Brand And Generic Makers Clash Over Canada/EU Trade Deal (Pharma Times) Cubist Shares Jump On Teva Patent Deal (Associated Press) Link Sought Between Lab ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4677109 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:09:01 +0100 4677109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4677112&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FRNHq-kkANQA%2F Two months ago, several non-governmental organizations urged Novartis to drop its “persistent legal actions” in India, where the drugmaker has spent five years waging a legal battle in hopes of securing a patent for its Gleevec med for treating chronic myeloid leukemia. Novartis made an appeal to the Supreme Court there two years ago and a hearing is scheduled for April 19. The groups argue the challenge is designed to influence the government to introduce laws and policies that would hinder access to medicines at a time when the issue is also the subject of trade negotiations (see here). Meanwhile, the groups charge that Novartis has tried to abuse the Indian patent sytem by continuing to file patent applications with, allgedly, minor chemical variations of the existing active... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4677112 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:10:58 +0100 4677112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658361&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxKTbpjkN3VQ%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn a speech today at Georgetown University, President Obama called for a goal of cutting America’s oil imports by one-third within a decade. Like all efforts to wean Americans from big, bad imports, such a policy will mean we will all pay more than we need to for the energy that helps to power our economy. I’ll leave it to my able Cato colleagues to dissect the president’s proposal in terms of energy policy, but it terms of trade policy, this is about as bad as it gets. We Americans benefit tremendously from our relatively free trade in petroleum products. Like all forms of trade, the importation of oil produced abroad allows us to acquire it at a price far lower than we would pay if we had to rely more heavily on domestic oil supplies. The money we save buying oil ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658361 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:36:08 +0100 4658361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626789&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkXNs6nxl5bY%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoAs expected, President Obama’s speech on Latin America, given on Monday in Santiago, Chile, was full of rhetoric but short of substance. He briefly mentioned the willingness of his administration to “move forward” with the pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama, but didn’t say when he’s submitting them for a vote in Congress. He recognized (again) that drug consumption in the U.S. is fueling drug violence in Mexico and Central America, but stayed away from saying how his more-of-the-same policies will change anything. Obama’s only tangible pledge was the announcement that his administration will work to increase the number of Latin American students in the U.S. to 100,000. This is laudable, but still unambitious. According to the Institute ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626789 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:21:37 +0100 4626789 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544943&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6jeuUQdVw-o%2F By Daniel GriswoldPresident Obama and Mexican President Calderon announced this afternoon that the U.S. government will finally allow qualified, safety certified Mexican truckers to deliver goods in the United States, fulfilling a commitment our government made more than 17 years ago in the North American Free Trade Agreement. It’s about time. America’s violation of the agreement had resulted in sanctions against $2.4 billion worth of U.S. exports to Mexico. According to one press report today, The plan, announced at a news conference by the two presidents, will allow for half of those tariffs to be lifted immediately. It will establish a reciprocal, phased-in pilot program that allows Mexican trucks to operate inside the U.S. provided they comply with a series of safety and driver-ski... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544943 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:59:44 +0100 4544943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522090&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJOOwocB9cCQ%2F By Daniel IkensonUniversity of Michigan economist and American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Perry has an excellent oped in today’s Wall Street Journal [$] about how U.S. manufacturing is thriving.  It can’t be emphasized enough how important it is to present such illuminating, factual, compelling analyses to a public that is starved for the truth and routinely subject to lies, half-baked assertions, and irresponsibly outlandish claims about the state of American manufacturing. The truth matters because U.S. trade and economic policies—your pocketbook—hang in the balance. For more data, facts, and background about the true state of U.S. manufacturing, please see this Cato policy analysis and these opeds (one, two, three). American Manufacturing Continues to Thrive in a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522090 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:24:41 +0100 4522090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399496&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoDrngqB050w%2F By Sallie JamesWhen it became clear that President Obama would make “competitiveness” a theme of his SOTU address, I looked forward to seeing Paul Krugman’s statement pointing out how much nonsense that is. Here he is, after all, in his excellent 1997 book, Pop Internationalism (MIT Press): …International trade, unlike competition among businesses for a limited market, is not a zero-sum game in which one nation’s gain is another’s loss. It is [a] positive-sum game, which is why the word “competitiveness” can be dangerously misleading when applied to international trade. Sure enough, President Obama’s speech last night was peppered with references to “the competition for jobs,” “new jobs and industries take root in this... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399496 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:56:54 +0100 4399496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4285186&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6S_XKbHL9Rk%2F By Daniel Griswold“Peace on earth, good will toward men” is a phrase we associate with the Christmas season. One bit of good news that you will probably not see in the newspaper or on cable TV over the holiday is that the world in recent decades has actually been moving closer to that ideal, and free trade and globalization have played a role. In its latest “Trade Fact of the Week,” the pro-trade Democratic Leadership Council reminds us that “The world has become more peaceful.” Citing a recent report from the Human Security Center in British Colombia, the DLC memo notes that wars are less frequent and less bloody than in decades past. The average annual death toll from armed conflicts has been declining since the 1950s, from an average of 155,000 down to 17,000 in 2002-2008. N... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4285186 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:10:44 +0100 4285186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245603&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmW_dDStfJV4%2F Hello, everyone. Another sunny - and cold - day here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where we are, as usual, hustling the short people off to this or that school house. To keep warm, we are brewing the mandatory cup of stimulation and searching for some hot news. Meanwhile, here are a few items of interest. We hope your days goes well. Do stay in touch… Pfizer Names Simmons As Head Of Emerging Markets (Bloomberg News) Teva’s MS Drug Meets Primary Endpoint (Reuters) Nigeria Denies Blame For Delay In Pfizer Payments (AllAfrica) India Will Not Compromise Local Pharma In EU Pact (LiveMint) Roche Advances Schizophrenia And MS Drugs (Reuters) Daily Aspirin Slashes Cancer Risk: Study (PharmaTimes) (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245603 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:00:39 +0100 4245603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4241949&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FU1IRA4muioM%2F Generally, trade agreements are discussed behind closed doors, but a New Zealand talk paper was leaked the other day and contains ideas that run counter to suggestions being pushed by US and the global pharmaceutical industry. In fact, the Public Citizen advocacy group, which publicized the leak, calls it a “direct challenge to the monopoly interests of major pharmaceutical corporations.” The disclosure comes amid negotiations that are being held this week in New Zealand among eight countries and the US that are participating in the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement, or FTA. At issue is the extent to which the FTA would move beyond intellectual property standards in the World Trade Organization’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, or TRIPS agreem... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4241949 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:45:36 +0100 4241949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233166&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa_QwBH92uOI%2F By Doug BandowThe U.S. and South Korean governments have agreed to changes in the free trade agreement negotiated by the Bush administration. The president rightly lauded the FTA as a good deal for Americans: “This agreement shows the U.S. is willing to lead and compete in the global economy,” the president told reporters at the White House, calling it a triumph for American workers in fields from farming to aerospace.” Approving the FTA has taken on added urgency after the European Union negotiated a similar accord with the South. Once that agreement takes effect, Europeans would have better access than Americans to the world’s 13th largest economy. Protectionism is always foolish, but especially so when one’s competitors are promoting open markets. The accord also offer... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233166 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:29:51 +0100 4233166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139214&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3nvUMBUeJXg%2F By Daniel GriswoldDuring his visit to India, President Obama should bury once and for all his divisive rhetoric about American companies shipping jobs overseas. Our growing commercial ties with India are a great opportunity, not a problem. U.S. exports to India have doubled in the past four years. American companies that have set up shop in India have helped to fuel demand in that country for U.S. products and services. The president should be celebrating rather than demonizing our deeper economic ties with India. Commercial Ties with India Are An Opportunity, Mr. President–Not A Problem is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139214 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:00:53 +0100 4139214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097907&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fn_8QxsQg0NI%2F By Ilya ShapiroIn July, I blogged about the case of Minnesota farmers who were facing criminal sanctions for engaging in interstate trade.  Now I am happy to report that the city of Lake Elmo has torn down its onerous and unconstitutional trade barriers: The change was made in response to a federal judge’s opinion in August that Lake Elmo’s protectionist law likely violated the U.S. Constitution because it discriminated against interstate commerce.  Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel stated that the law “squelche[d] competition . . . altogether, leaving no room for investment from outside,” and would likely have “obliterate[ed] . . . the Lake Elmo markets in pumpkins and Christmas trees. . . . In fact, Plaintiffs have shown that the markets will be wiped out.” Congrats to o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097907 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:55:55 +0100 4097907 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086250&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F34uxWd1bbcA%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe next G20 Summit, to be held November 11-12 in South Korea, is right around the corner. For free traders, the summit has taken on added meaning because of the promise President Obama made during the most recent G20 Summit held last June in Toronto to advance the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (FTA): The last time I was in Korea, I said that I would be committed to moving [the FTA] forward. And today I indicated to President Lee that it is time that our United States Trade Representative work very closely with his counterpart from the ROK to make sure that we set a path, a road, so that I can present this FTA to Congress…. I want to make sure that everything is lined up properly by the time that I visit Korea in November. And then in the few months that follow that, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086250 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:29:28 +0100 4086250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045390&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FVlI5FAUruKA%2F The ongoing trade talks between India and the European Union are inflaming passions among some consumer activists, who worry a Free Trade Agreement will limit access to medicines. And so a protest was held in front of the Indian Commerce Ministry in New Delhi in which an effigy of the minister was burnt. And then the police start swinging batons at the members of Delhi Network of Positive People, who are agitating on behalf of people with HIV and AIDS. Activists say the trade talks include proposals that could delay or restrict Indian generic drug makers by extending patent terms for brand-name meds, requiring data exclusivity and imposing tighter rules on enforcing borders. A recent report in the Journal of the International AIDS Society suggests prices could rise and access delayed to im... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045390 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:05:41 +0100 4045390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031223&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJm3ayMurjSc%2F By Daniel GriswoldA new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll would seem to say yes. In a story over the weekend under the headline, “Americans Sour on Trade,” the Journal reports: more than half of those surveyed, 53%, said free-trade agreements have hurt the U.S. That is up from 46% three years ago and 32% in 1999. One plausible explanation for the sour mood toward trade is the business cycle. 1999 was near the peak of the long boom of the 1990s, when Americans were feeling good about just about everything. Even three years ago, the stock market was at a record high and unemployment was below 5 percent. In this light, trade is another casualty of the lingering recession, not a cause as many trade critics want to argue. “Outsourcing” was a major source of anxiety in the poll. American... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031223 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:47:00 +0100 4031223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920821&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdiVBfy58GCM%2F By Sallie JamesAs many of you may know, Australia had a federal election on August 21 that yielded an at-time-of-blogging inconclusive result. As a consequence, the Liberal-National coalition (currently in opposition) and the Australian Labor Party are both wooing the Green and Independent members in the hope of securing their support. A Canberra-based friend sent me a link to an article in today’s (or, strictly speaking given the time difference, yesterday’s) Australian about the trade-related aspects of the current negotiations to form a minority government. I’ll admit, the story had me worried. I’ve bragged before about Australia’s bipartisan political consensus on free trade, and it looked as though that was under threat. According to the article, Labor &... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920821 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:32:57 +0100 3920821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750045&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQjSPnzE3gQI%2F By Ilya ShapiroWhen pundits discuss “free trade,” most people think of international trade, eliminating tariffs, import quotas, and the like. That’s because the Constitution’s Commerce Clause — the one Congress has been using and abusing for decades — grants the government the power to “make regular” trade between the several states.  For example, Oklahoma can’t ban imports of beef from coming across the Red River and New York can’t have a different licensing regime for long-haul tracks entering from New Jersey rather than Pennsylvania. While this commerce- (and liberty-) enhancing feature of our federal system has required a Supreme Court reminder for traditional wine retailers in recent years, Americans have generally take... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750045 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:44:36 +0100 3750045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644754&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEOlKeo7JhgA%2F By Daniel IkensonFurther to Tom Palmer’s illuminating post entitled “How to Explain Free Trade in Less Than Three Minutes,” let me add that, occasionally, skeptical professors, teachers, and our favorite protectionists muster up retorts to our sensible arguments.  And sometimes further elaboration and exposition are necessary before we can convincingly dispense with those objections. For those occasions, you will be happy to have been acquainted with the work of the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, which has been producing arrows for free trade quivers for 12 years.  Given the persistence of myths that feed trade’s skeptics, eradication of protectionism requires that our arguments appeal to those who can be convinced in three minutes, as well as those who may b... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644754 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:14:19 +0100 3644754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644756&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fg05BfzWMZi4%2F By Tom G. PalmerThe professionally ignorant (and I’m thinking here of Lou Dobbs, among others) never “get it” about trade. They think it’s some complex swindle, in which we deny ourselves “jobs,” or that it should be about being “fair” or “balanced.” They don’t see how free trade creates prosperity and peace. I was inspired by the outstanding trade economist Doug Irwin of Dartmouth to explain what goes on when people trade. The challenge was to explain international trade in under 3 minutes. So here’s the result in 2:57: The Great Prosperity Machine. Share it with your favorite protectionist, or with professors and teachers. (There’s more information at AtlasNetwork.org/BastiatLegacy.) Watch and share: (Source: C... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644756 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:41:56 +0100 3644756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3632258&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FW3E_vSN8ivw%2F By Daniel GriswoldThirty-nine members of Congress from both major parties sent a letter to President Obama this week urging him to seek passage of the long-stalled free trade agreement with our South American ally Colombia. The agreement to eliminate trade barriers between our two countries was signed in November 2006, but under the influence of their trade-union allies, Democratic leaders in the House have refused to even allow a vote. As signers of the letter point out (go here for a Cato analysis), the agreement would be good for our economy and good for U.S. foreign policy.  So far, the delay in passage has forced U.S. exporters to Colombia to pay $2.7 billion in extra duties that would have been eliminated if the agreement had become law. The bipartisan supporters also rightly note t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3632258 Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:47:02 +0100 3632258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607814&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FEr0E-HGqV_8%2F The Free Trade Agreements being negotiated between the US and other nations has come in for some criticism by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), which is a group body of independent experts that is charged with monitoring implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by participating nations. And in a new report, the CECSR notes that the intellectual property obligations included in the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Colombia may hurt access to medicines and recommends a revision of the IP provisions. “The Committee is concerned that bilateral and multilateral trade agreements signed by (Colombia) may affect the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, in particular of disadvantaged and marginali... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607814 Fri, 28 May 2010 12:30:24 +0100 3607814 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519447&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZns89v_2yXw%2F By David BoazCato senior fellow Tom Palmer and friends Don Boudreaux and June Arunga debate free trade with the legendary Lou Dobbs around John Stossel’s anchor desk on tonight’s edition of “Stossel.” 8:00 p.m. and midnight EDT on the Fox Business Network. Stossel’s weekly column also interviews Tom Palmer. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519447 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:14:04 +0100 3519447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515339&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOzLA9q35N5o%2F By David BoazTim Carney has a blog post at the Examiner that’s worth quoting in full: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued its 2009 congressional scorecard, and once again, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex. — certainly one of the two most free-market politicians in Washington — gets the lowest score of any Republican. Paul was one of a handful of GOP lawmakers not to win the Chamber’s “Spirit of Enterprise Award.” He scored only a 67%, bucking the Chamber on five votes, including: Paul opposed the “Solar Technology Roadmap Act,” which boosted subsidies for unprofitable solar energy technology. Paul opposed the “Travel Promotion Act,” which subsidizes the tourism industry with a new fee on international visitors. Paul opposed the largest spending bill in history, Obama’s $... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515339 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:24:48 +0100 3515339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490873&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fa7pJ_G8HTjo%2F Nice to see you again. Another busy day lies ahead, no doubt, as meetings and deadlines beckon. And this calls for a cup or more of stimulation. So grab one yourself - or perhaps a bottle of water - and dig in. We hope your day goes well. Do stay in touch… Gilead Lowers Outlook, Citing Health Care Reform (Reuters) FDA Questions Acura Abuse-Resistant Painkiller (Associated Press) Bayer Health Hires Ex-Novartis Exec (Bloomberg News) India, Pharma And Trade Agreements (Huffington Post) Pharmacies Sell More Meds Over The Counter (The Daily Mail) Elan Moves Closer To Profitability (PharmaTimes) Coffee pix thx to chichcacha flickr creative commons (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490873 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:43:21 +0100 3490873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354297&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsCH1nt1xT6c%2F By Chris Moody Greece, here we come…. Congressional Budget Office estimates budget deficits will average nearly $1 trillion per year for the next decade. Matt Drudge re-titles a Cato op-ed: “Mob Tactics Used to Push Healthcare Through.” Daniel Griswold: “On trade, as on so much else, the populists have it wrong again. Free trade and globalization are great blessings to families across America.“ Could Dennis Kucinich bring both sides of the aisle  together to end the war in Afghanistan? Podcast: “Seventies Redux?” featuring John Samples, author of the forthcoming book The Struggle to Limit Government. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354297 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:44:14 +0100 3354297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3331271&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaIbxtY5oaD4%2F By Daniel GriswoldIf you want to witness the clash of two worldviews on trade, check out the online debate I’m having with Ian Fletcher of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. A self-described protectionist, Fletcher has written a new book with the unambiguous title, Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace it and Why. In the opposite corner, I argue for eliminating barriers to trade, drawing on my own recent book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization. The debate is being hosted by the International Economic Law and Policy Blog. We’ve already filed two 600-word posts each, with a third to come at the end of this week and concluding arguments early next week. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3331271 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:05:21 +0100 3331271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220512&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FT11nD6xi4to%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn his State of the Union speech, President Obama vowed to double U.S. exports in five years to (all together now) “create jobs.” Exports are dandy, and they do support higher-paying jobs, but the president’s pledge was unrealistic and raises false hopes that it will make any dent in the unemployment rate. U.S. exports have not doubled in dollar terms during a five-year period since the inflation-plagued 1970s, not exactly a golden era for the U.S. economy. In real terms, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, exports have not come close to doubling during any five-year stretch in the past 40 years. The fastest growth in inflation-adjusted exports came in the second half of the 1980s, when they grew by two-thirds from 1985 to 1990. Other periods of robus... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220512 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:53:27 +0100 3220512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212305&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKktZfHgKEmc%2F By Jeffrey A. Miron1. Abandon Obamacare 2. Forget Cap and Trade 3. Reject the Card Check Bill 4. Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan 5. Legalize Drugs 6. Scrap the tax code and replace with a flat tax 7. Expand free trade and immigration 8. Stop the bailouts 9. Cut spending 10. Cut spending BONUS -  Cut spending (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212305 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:03:17 +0100 3212305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197610&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F46Mw8U1RmtU%2F By Daniel GriswoldThis has not been a good week for the national Democratic Party. Along with losing the Massachusetts Senate seat, the party took another step toward making hostility to trade liberalization a plank of party orthodoxy. As my Cato colleague Sallie James flagged earlier today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a press release yesterday criticizing a Republican candidate in upstate New York for contributing to the Cato Institute. And, of course, everyone knows that Cato is “a right wing extremist group that has long been a vocal advocate for extremist, unfair trade policies that would allow companies to ship American jobs overseas.” Among our sins, in the eyes of the DCCC, is that Cato research has supported tariff-reducing trade agreements, such as t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197610 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:23:51 +0100 3197610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149029&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6sJIosoLgDU%2F By Chris Moody The moral and constitutional case for gay marriage. The populists have it wrong. Why free trade and globalization are great blessings to  Americans and poor families around the world. How Obama’s plan for health care will affect medical innovation in America: “Imposing price controls on drugs and treatments–or indirectly forcing their prices down by means of a ‘public option’ or expanded public insurance programs–would reduce the incentive for innovators to develop new treatments.” Register now for the upcoming Cato forum featuring author Tim Carney and his new book, Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses. Buy the book, here. Podcast: &#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149029 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:24:59 +0100 3149029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023094&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVtCFexcexqY%2F Yes, you read that right. The story is more complicated than a short headline can covey, but that is the gist of an article of mine in the just-out December issue of Commentary magazine. [Subscription needed.] The past 15 years have witnessed two undeniable trends: dramatically rising levels of immigration, both low-skilled and high-skilled, and an equally dramatic plunge in crime rates nationally. I don’t argue that increased immigration in the past 15 years is the primary cause of falling crime rates, but I do argue that the evidence punches a gaping hole in the Lou-Dobbs contention that immigrants have clogged our prisons and unleashed a new wave of crime. In the Commentary article, and in an earlier Cato Free Trade Bulletin, I cite Census data that show that incarceration rates for i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023094 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:11:58 +0100 3023094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023095&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F35PMRhE5m3I%2F I’ve just started reading a new article by economists at the World Bank and the Peterson Insititute. The gist of the paper is that greenhouse gas emission targets will have little effect on “carbon leakage”, the apparently-largely-theoretical phenomenon whereby carbon-intensive industries move to less regulated jurisdictions in response to stringent emissions regulations in their original home.  So we can strike that off our list of worries. The authors do reach the conclusion, though, that output of energy-intensive products will decline in response to emissions cuts and the political temptation for “carbon tariffs” will be strong (see here why that is a bad idea). Basing the carbon tariffs on the carbon content of imports–as opposed to, say, the carb... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023095 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:35 +0100 3023095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023103&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fcl_3Rv3NzC8%2F Sunday marked the third anniversary of the signing of a free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia. It is an embarrassment to our great nation that this agreement with an important Latin American ally still sits on the shelf three years later, a victim of congressional trade politics. As my Cato colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo and I argued in a 2008 Free Trade Bulletin, and as I wrote in a more recent op-ed, the FTA with Colombia is a win-win for Americans. It fully opens the Colombian market and its 44 million pro-American consumers to our exports, while deepening our ties with one of our most dependable allies in the Western Hemisphere. The AFL-CIO and other opponents of the agreement demand that Colombia further reduce violence against trade unionist before approval can b... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023103 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:33:31 +0100 3023103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2846347&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_TKxtI_qwPg%2F Scott Lincicome sharpens his pencil today and calculates that Congressional failure to ratify the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement–a deal that was signed almost three full years ago–has so far cost American exporters $2 billion.  That tally increases $1.9 million each and every day. Since that time [the trade agreement signing], American exporters have paid approximately $1.9 million per day in Colombian tariffs that they wouldn’t have paid if the Democrat-controlled Congress had just passed the FTA back then and thus allowed it to enter into force. By my math, that means that Congress’ and (now) the President’s partisan stalling has resulted in a pointless tax on American businesses of almost $2 billion ($1.9798 billion = 1042 days times $1.9 million) a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2846347 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:32:08 +0100 2846347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464102&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs6NEc8M3nVM%2F President Barack Obama appears to have learned something compared to candidate Obama: protectionism isn’t to America’s advantage.  Unfortunately, it is not clear that Congress has learned the same lesson.  Three free trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration remain in limbo, while no one is pushing to reinstate the president’s so-called fast track negotiating authority. And past protectionist actions are now bearing ill fruit.  The “stimulus” bill required that construction money be spent in the U.S.  Although the provision was amended in response to foreign criticism, some Canadian firms have been adversely affected.  So Canadian cities have begun boycotting American products. Reports Reuters: Canadian municipal leaders threatened to retali... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464102 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:54 +0100 2464102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2033178&cid=t_217174_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D5578 There is now an active discussion in the Dobbs forum on the “Liberalisation of the medical sector by 2013″ The gist of it is: - the Government has signed a commitment in 1997, to open the medical sector to ASEAN doctors - by 2013 the Government of Malaysia will have to honour their commitment to allow doctors from ASEAN region to work here - it is all part of the WTO / ASEAN Free Trade Agreement - it will likely affect the specialists first and not the primary care doctors There are plenty of concerns but HOTM has blogged about it here Some relevant quotes: We have not amended Medical Act 71, to regulate good conduct of medical practice and also to define who is a medical specialist. We have half done the amendments to the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act, The med... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033178 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0100 2033178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2013829&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F474909162%2F Speculation is growing on Capitol Hill that Xavier Becerra, a Democratic congressman from California, has been offered the job of US Trade Representative (see this). The job is important, of course, for its influence on trade agreements and some consumer activists appear encouraged because Becerra has, in the past, criticized Bush administration policies on intellectual property and access to medicines. This is a hot topic, you may recall, as some countries issue compulsory licenses for drugs deemed too costly for large swaths of their populations. A notable example has been Thailand, which angered several large drugmakers by issuing licenses for AIDS and heart meds (read here and here). The moves prompted US Trade Rep Susan Schwab to place Thailand on its Priority Watch twice over the pas... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013829 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:27:57 +0100 2013829 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1098892&cid=t_217174_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F201623061%2F Along a seemingly endless row of identical gray warehouses, a lone guard stands watch over a shuttered storage area with a peeling green and yellow sign: Euro Gulf Trading. Three months ago, when the authorities announced that they had seized a large cache of counterfeit drugs from Euro Gulf’s warehouse deep inside a sprawling free trade zone here, they gave no hint of the raid’s global significance, The New York Times writes. But an examination of the case, the paper reports, reveals links to a complex supply chain of fakes that ran from China through Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the Bahamas, ultimately leading to an Internet pharmacy whose US customers believed they were buying meds from Canada, according to the Times, which interviewed regulators and drug-company ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1098892 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:45:33 +0100 1098892