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AIDS Activists Take Over Office; Demand Medicine for Every Nation (Washington DC) United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky received a surprise this morning when AIDS activists from ACT UP and other groups stormed and occupied her office on the second floor of the USTR building. Another five climbers chained themselves to her balcony with a large banner demanding "Essential Medication for all Nations." The demonstrators threw dollar bills featuring Barshefkyıs image, and empty pill bottles symbolizing the effect of USTR bullying of nations hard-hit by HIV/AIDS.

Ambassador Barshefsky, a Clinton cabinet appointee and chief trade negotiator for the US Government, will represent the US at the upcoming World Trade Organization Ministerial in Seattle (Nov 27-Dec 3).

Sources state that the USTR plans to lead opposition against proposals from developing countries to increase access to "essen-tial medicines" during TRIPs agreement talks in Seattle, according to a leaked report from behind-the-scenes "Green Room" negotia-tions with the WTO Director General in Geneva. TRIPs is the WTO agreement on intellectual property, including pharmaceuticals.

"Ambassador Barshefky uses threats of trade sanctions to force poor nations to abandon public health interventions that save millions of lives," stated ACT UPıs Paul Davis. "Now she and Clinton intend to use the WTO negotiations in Seattle to win an even bigger sledgehammer to crush the reasonable practices of nations seeking to save lives by providing life-saving medicines."

The WTO Ministerial issues a declaration which forms the basis for upcoming years of WTO negotiations. A number of countries led by Venezuela and Kenya are submitting revisions to the Ministerial Declaration. These countries seek to exempt the World Health Organizationıs list of essential medicines from the patent system for "developing [and] least developed trading partners." [www.iatp.org/trade/library/admin/uploadedfiles/Second_Draft_of_WTO_Chairmans_Ministerial_Text.htm]

Activists demanding an end to US policy impeding access to life-saving medicines have been targeting Barshefsky and Vice President Gore. Todayıs office takeover comes on the heels of a 750 person demonstration at the USTR office on October 6. Activists targeted candidate Gore for his role as chair of the US/South Africa Bi-National Commission until he agreed to remove US obstructions to South Africaıs Medicines Act. The 1997 Medicines Act permits local manufacture of generic versions of patented medicines. Barshefsky announced Goreıs capitulation on September 17 [announcement: http://www.ustr.gov/releases/1999/09/99-76.html].

Barshefsky routinely levies sanctions and other punishments against poor countriesı efforts to provide access to "essential medication" even though they do so within the legal framework of TRIPs. The office of the USTR, often at the request of pharmaceutical interests filing complaints, has 46 current actions against poor countries for using internationally accepted and WTO compliant measures such as compulsory licensing and parallel importing to save lives [report: http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/country/allcountries.html].

Background: Compulsory licensing is when a country issues a permit for manufacturing a generic version of a patented product, paying a royalty to the patent-holder. Parallel importing is the process of shopping around the globe for the best price for a patented product. The United States routinely issues compulsory licenses, and most Western European nations frequently use parallel importing for medicines [extended info: www.cptech.org]. "Green Room" negotiations are closed-door WTO Œarguments,ı where member nations are excluded on an emergency basis to settle disputes. Nations seeking patent exemptions for certain pharmaceuticals were not part of recent negotiations. "Essential medicines," in this case, refers to the World Health Organizationıs regularly updated "Model List of Essential Drugs" [www.who.int/dmp/Model List/edl-10.htm]

Activists vow to return to Washington November 30 for a large protest at the White House on the eve of World AIDS Day. Dozens of arrests are expected. "This is what the US has to offer to 90% of the people with HIV globally this World AIDS Day ­ shameful policies from a trade superpower that guarantee the deaths of millions worldwide," concludes ACT UP member John H. Bell.

"This office takeover is a calling card. We are giving Barshefsky a send off to the humiliation sheıs going to face in Seattle in a few weeks," said Susan Whitaker of ACT UP Philadelphia. "She values pharmaceutical company profits more than millions of human lives. We demand that she support the proposals of countries like Venezuela and Kenya, rather than oppose them."

ACT UP Demands:

* USTR and other relevant departments must cease all actions interfering with efforts by poor countries to increase access to essential medicines. The announced terms of Vice President Gore's arrangement with South Africa must become US global trade policy;

* USTR must support, rather than oppose, the campaign of poor nations, including Venezuela, Kenya, and Pakistan, to revise the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement to exempt essential medicines from the patent system.

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