US defends its stance in WTO drug talks

A US trade official Tuesday indicated the United States was unlikely to substantially alter its position to reach a new international agreement aimed at ensuring all poor countries have access to cheap medicines.

World Trade Organisation talks on the issue collapsed last month after the United States balked at expanding the list of diseases that would be eligible for drug patent waivers beyond HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and similar grave epidemics.

WTO members will make another attempt at striking a deal on the issue in February. However, the US trade official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated the United States might not have much more to offer than its already announced moratorium on dispute settlement actions.

"We've announced what we think is a good unilateral solution," the aide said, adding that the strong drug patent protections were important to the United States because of its large pharmaceutical industry.

"We're not going to gut the TRIPS agreement," he said, referring to WTO intellectual property protection rules.