RCEP and drug IP issue

The 15th round of meetings on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement begins in China on October 17. RCEP is a free trade agreement under negotiation between the ten-member Association of South East Asian and six countries, which have established trade agreements with ASEAN: Australia, India, New Zealand, China, Japan and Korea. A key niggling point at RCEP is the inclusion of intellectual property in trade agreements. And such provisions would work against access to affordable generic drugs exported from India, say civil society groups. The fortnight is also expected to see a development on the use of plastic or glass as packaging material for medicines. The case is scheduled to come up at the National Green Tribunal.