12 May 2010
Statement of Knowledge Ecology International on possible WTO disputes against the EU seizures of goods in transit
Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva Representative
“In a world with territorial patent rights, it is important that the rules for ‘goods in transit’ permit the transport of medicines from places where they can be made to places where they will be used. The EU’s systematic seizure of at least 17 drug consignments is indefensible and undermines the very principle of free trade, the raison d’être of the World Trade Organization.
The EU seizures of medicines in transit from India to countries in Latin America and Africa were made under the European Union’s rules regarding customs measures. We are deeply concerned that these rules, and many other rules being proposed in a plethora of new trade agreements, do not protect legitimate sellers and buyers of generic medicines, when those goods move in global trade.
There is a difference of opinion regarding an important issue. Should countries be free to aggressively enforce patent and other intellectual property claims against goods in transit, or should goods in transit be protected when they are clearly intended to markets where their use is legitimate?
We hope that any possible WTO dispute settlement panel would uphold the principle of ‘goods in transit’, the very bedrock on which the WTO stands. This issue is particularly relevant to the challenge of providing “access to medicine for all,” a central objective of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health.”