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USTR responds to Senator Wyden's letter on ACTA
Submitted by Malini Aisola on 2. March 2010 - 17:01Ambassador Ron Kirk has issued a response to Senator Wyden's letter dated January 6, 2010. The official press release from Senator Wyden's office follows:
U.S. Senator Ron WydenFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jennifer Hoelzer (Wyden): (202) 224-3789
March 2, 2010Wyden Gets Some Answers on ACTA Negotiations
USTR Responds on Range of Issues, including Internet Access and Drug Sales
Rethinking compulsory licensing for export: WTO members hold informal consultations on Paragraph 6 implementation
Submitted by thiru on 12. February 2010 - 5:59Friday, 12 February 2010
Around 100 Members of the World Trade Organization attended informal consultations today in Room E (a mainstay of the green room consultations) to discuss the implementation of Paragraph 6 mechanism which was created to be an "an expeditious solution" for "WTO members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector" that faced difficulties in in "making effective use of compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement".
Calendar for USTR head Ambassador Ron Kirk, for May to September 2009
Submitted by James Love on 11. November 2009 - 9:21On September 11, 2009, KEI submitted a FOIA request for the daily calendar of USTR head Ambassador Ron Kirk. On Friday afternoon, November 6, 2009, we received a response to that FOIA. This complements our earlier FOIA which covered his calendar from March 20 to May 1, 2009.
USTR Ron Kirk's September 30, 2009 Speech on Intellectual Property
Submitted by James Love on 5. October 2009 - 14:07USTR head Ambassador Ron Kirk made another speech on intellectual property on September 30, 2009. The text of his speech is here. Below are a few relevant quotes.
On access to medicine:
The U.S. Special 301 Reports, 1989 to 2010
The USTR's Special 301 Report has been issued every year beginning in 1989. The Executive Summary of the 2009 report says:
United States Trade Representative (USTR) FOIA requests
Submitted by James Love on 12. September 2009 - 10:34Before (or after) reading these accounts of FOIA requests to USTR, you might also review the transparency memorandum issued by President Obama in January 2009.
The following are some recent FOIA requests for USTR:
NGO Letter to USTR on transparency
Submitted by James Love on 22. July 2009 - 22:00On July 22, 2009, eight public interest, consumer and public health organizations wrote to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), recommending the USTR and other federal agencies reduce secrecy and increase transparency in negotiations that involve global norms for knowledge governance.
Meet the chief US ACTA negotiator: Kira Alvarez, the Deputy Assistant USTR for IP Enforcement
Submitted by Staff on 25. June 2009 - 11:43Kira Alvarez is the Deputy Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property Enforcement, and the chief US negotiator for ACTA. According to her Linkedin bio, as late as October 2008, right before the election, she was the Time Warner Vice President for Global Public Policy, and before that, she was a lobbyist for Ely Lilly, the pharmaceutical company.
Daily calendar for Ambassador Ron Kirk, March 20 to May 1, 2009
Submitted by KEI Staff on 24. May 2009 - 2:53Using the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), KEI has obtained the daily schedule of Ambassador Kirk, from March 20 to May 1, 2009. KEI has separately asked the USTR to routinely as a matter of transparency post this information on the USTR web page.
The response to the follow is presented below in two pdf files:
March 20 to April 14, 2009
April 15 to May 1, 2009
Public Health Consumer Groups respond to 2009 USTR Special 301 Report
Submitted by Judit Rius on 30. April 2009 - 13:50Public Health and Consumer Groups respond to 2009 USTR Special 301 Report
Essential Action, AU Program on Information Justice and IP, Knowledge Ecology International, Forum on Democracy and Trade, Health GAP and Oxfam America
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | April 30, 2009
Contact Info for each organization below with each quotation
