ZAMBIA TO MANUFACTURE GENERIC HIV/AIDS MEDICINES

On 2 September Zambia declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency in an effort to begin manufacturing generic AIDS drugs. Davidson Chilipamushi, Tanzanian Permanent Secretary of Commerce, Trade and Industry said the declaration would enable local firms to obtain licenses to produce cheaper, generic AIDS drugs. Under WTO rules, countries must declare HIV/AIDS an emergency in order to manufacture generic AIDS drugs for domestic distribution. The drugs cannot be exported, and companies as well as persons who wish to manufacture, use or sell any generic drugs will require a written authorisation during the declared period of emergency. The emergency declaration offers new hope to Zambia. Patented western anti-retroviral drugs cost between US$300 and US$1,000 per treatment per month. One in every five Zambians is infected with HIV or AIDS, and nearly 700,000 Zambians have already died since the first case was reported in 1984. 800,000 children have been orphaned. The need for affordable drugs is staggering, especially in a country of 10 million people where the majority live far below the World Bank poverty threshold of US$1 a day. Developing countries that do not have the capacity to produce their own generics have the right to import them in situations of national emergency under a decision on TRIPS and Health taken in 2003 at the WTO (see BRIDGES Weekly, 4 September 2003).

"Zambia Declares AIDS Emergency To Produce Drugs," REUTERS, 3 September 2004; "HIV/Aids Call For Unity And Focus, Says Ndhlovu," THE LUSAKA POST, 7 September 2004; "The Cost Of A Cure," NATIONAL REVIEW, 15 June 2004.

US TEXTILE GROUPS LASH OUT AGAINST CHINESE PRODUCERS

On 1 September US textile producers stated their intention to file a safeguard claim in anticipation of surges of Chinese textile imports in 2005. The National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO), the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), and the National Textile Association (NTA) cited earlier import surges from China as proof that the elimination of all textile and clothing quotas would lead to material injury to the US textile industry. Commenting on the issue, US Undersecretary for International Trade Grant Aldonas said that current procedures for considering requests for import restraints under the China textile safeguard mechanism allow for petitions based on threat of injury. In addition, he said he would raise the possibility of a broader agreement restraining China's textile trade across a range of categories during a meeting with Chinese trade officials to be held from 7-18 September. US textile producers also blamed China for currency suppression, saying that the weakness of the yuan gave Chinese producers an advantage in international garment markets. The groups urged the US government to continue pressuring the Chinese government to float the currency.

Under the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), Members must phase out textile quotas by 31 December 2004. Certain countries have expressed concern regarding adjustment costs due to quota elimination (see BRIDGES Weekly, 1 September 2004) and Members will likely bring up this issue at a 1 October meeting of the Council for Trade in Goods.

"Textile Industry Announces Intention to File Threat-Based China Safeguard Petitions in September," WTO REPORTER, 7 September 2004; "Textile Industry Announces Intention to File Threat-Based China Safeguard Petitions in September," GAFTT, AMTAC PRESS RELEASE, 1 September 2004; "WTO DG consults members on possible emergency meeting to discuss textiles and clothing adjustment challenges," WTO PRESS RELEASE, 4 August 2004; "U.S. Says It Will Keep Pressuring China Over Currency," BLOOMBERG, 2 September 2004.

CITES BANS CAVIAR TRADE

On 1 September officials from the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) told the New York Times that caviar exports had been suspended. The officials highlighted the failure of exporting countries to accurately account for illegal harvesting of beluga caviar and abide by a 2001 agreement on conservation. Caviar from beluga sturgeon is exported mainly from countries bordering the Caspian Sea. Its population has plummeted 90 percent in the past 20 years due to overfishing, habitat destruction and pollution. CITES' decision to stop issuing export permits was praised by civil society groups such as Caviar Emptor, a coalition of three organisations seeking to protect and restore endangered Caspian Sea sturgeon. Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council and spokesperson for Caviar Emptor, said the coalition was "very concerned that critically needed long-term conservation measures have yet to be implemented in the Caspian region". The Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan were all party to the 2001 agreement which bound the parties to reduce stocks and make significant improvements in science, management and enforcement related to depleted sturgeon populations. They agreed to a 9.6 percent reduction of stocks in 2002, and in March 2004 CITES granted them an extra three months to fulfil their international obligations (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 2 April 2004, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/04-04-02/story3.htm). Although the ban will not prevent illegal trade in sturgeon caviar, CITES said it would remain in place until the Caspian nations comply with the agreement.

"Caviar Faces a Ban," NYT, 1 September 2004; "U.N. agency says nations need to improve conservation," MSNBC, 1 September 2004; "Wildlife Officials Shut Down Global Caviar Trade," CAVIAR EMPTOR RELEASE, 1 September 2004.