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Deutsche Welle reports on failed round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) negotiations:
Sticking points were said to have included differences over protecting regional food specialties, the auto trade, and protection for drug makers.
Among other things, New Zealand, the world's largest dairy exporter, has said it will not back a deal that does not significantly open dairy markets.
The question of data protection for drug manufacturers was also a bone of contention, with the US wanting data on biological drug development to remain monopolized for 12 years, as compared with Australia's five years.
The deputy trade minister from Chile, which has no protection at all for drugmakers, said any deal must reconcile public needs with commercial interest. "For us it's vital to have an agreement that balances public policy goals for intellectual property in medicines," Minister Andres Rebolledo said.
The New Zealanders are upset about their distant Canadian cousins protecting their dairy industry, the NZ stuff reports:
The heavily protected Canadian dairy industry has earned the wrath of Federated Farmers president Dr William Rolleston for standing in the way of a good deal for dairy in the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in Hawaii.
Rolleston said the public position of the Canadians was "unacceptable".A 2014 paper written by Canadian academic and former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay says it costs a Canadian family about $300 a year to prop up the dairy industry.
The Canadian government slaps on quotas of 246 percent for cheese, and almost 300 percent for butter.
Outside key dairy electorates, the supply management system that protects farmers is not popular.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Sunday August 02 2015, @01:47AM
It started with: "Music, movies, microcode and high speed pizza delivery". Nowadays, it's even worse
I'd give about 7-10 years for India to switch from being the manufacturer of drugs to starting researching and selling their own
*per se - only a matter of time to have Amazon tapping into "drone delivery" - self-driving delivery cars will take most of the rest, in case Amazon gets monopoly on air delivery
* as a metaphor for services - you need people with income to pay for services. Trickle-down economy? Huh, you kidding, right?
To regain the middle class, you'd better start concentrating on what the middle class can do best.
Here's an idea: go artisan and start exporting those high quality marijuana blends [independent.co.uk] in which you have so long a tradition. Seems to work fine for French wines and/or Italian Parmesan cheeses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Sunday August 02 2015, @05:16AM
Love that book.
As for the artisan stuff, that will work for a few people, but it isn't any sort of mass employment program. Pot? Willie Nelson could make money branding whiskey too -- he's already famous so it's easy for him to profit that way. Joe Schmo grower? He's going to have to work his ass off and get very lucky.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2015, @08:38PM
That's only a viable suggestion if you enjoy prison. So long as prohibition is a thing, what you're suggesting isn't an option. Even in the states where its legal, federal agents could come in and murder you and steal all your hard-earned, legally-obtained funds and everything you own (because "it was all bought with drug money") at any moment because its still illegal at the federal level.