China, Equador stand by India at WTO

Date: 14 June 2010

NEW DELHI: China and Equador have come out in support of India in its fight against the European Union at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for ‘wrongful’ seizure of its generic or off-patent drugs in transit to third countries.

Both have requested to be allowed to be participants in the consultations between India and the EU that is expected to begin soon as they too stand to be affected by the outcome.

“Ecuador has a substantial trade interest in these consultations as shipments of generic drugs destined for the country have been seized in transit in the territory of the European Union in 2008 and 2009,” the country’s representative at the WTO said it in its submission to the chairman of the dispute settlement body of the WTO.

China pointed out in its submission that since it was a significant bilateral trade partner of the EU and the Netherlands (where most of the seizures took place) and a big producing country of generic drugs, therefore it has substantial interest in these relevant consultations.

While the countries will not directly participate in the discussions India has with the EU, their presence in the consultations would add weight to India’s position, a commerce department official told ET.

“We welcome their participation in the discussions as it would give EU an idea about the kind of interest that developing countries are taking in the dispute,” the official said.

Brazil, which too has sought a separate consultation with the EU on the same issue of drugs seizure, has also requested for permission to participate in India’s consultations.

Last month, India requested formal consultations with the EU at the dispute settlement body of the WTO against the repeated seizures of consignments of generic drugs originating in India at ports and airports in the Netherlands on the ground of alleged infringement of patents subsisting in the Netherlands while these consignments were in transit to third country destinations. These included drugs produced by reputed Indian companies like Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

While these drugs had become off-patent in India and the countries they were being supplied to, some companies held patents to these in the EU.

India said that the action went against the provisions of the WTO’s intellectual property regime Trips which allows India to produce generics (medicines that have become off-patent in India) which may have patent holders in other countries and sell them to developing countries on public health grounds if they do not have the capacity to produce it.

While India had tried to sort out the issue with the EU outside the WTO, it asked for formal consultations at the dispute settlement body when the EU failed to make amendments in its customs regulations after several months of dialogue. If the WTO consultations do not yield result, India will ask for setting up of a dispute settlement panel which will hear the arguments of both sides and give its judgement.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/China-Equador-stand-by-India-at-WTO/articleshow/6044809.cms