Drug company protections are latest stumbling block for NAFTA rewrite

New York Times

21 March 2019 - President Trump’s ability to get his revised North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress may hinge on a little-noticed provision governing intellectual property protections for new pharmaceutical products.

Congressional Democrats have seized on measures in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that establish protections for drug companies, saying they are a boon to the pharmaceutical industry and could undermine efforts to make American health care more affordable.

The issue is the latest complication in Mr. Trump’s years long effort to rip up NAFTA and rewrite the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. While Mr. Trump secured Canada’s and Mexico’s sign-off on the new agreement last year, the trade pact must be ratified by legislators in all three countries, including by Congress.

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Michael Wonder

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Michael Wonder