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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 02 2015, @04:41AM
> > Power is a means to an end, not an end itself.
>
> Whatever you want to call it. But it's not about trade.
Trade is their means to success. Just like they aren't in it for power itself they aren't in it for trade itself. But enabling trade is how they pursue success. TPP is their mechanism for enabling trade as means to achieve success.
> And if you're basing this on posts I make here and assuming I do nothing but make Internet comments, then your ability to use logic and reason fails.
Your ability to use logic and reason has failed you. I haven't even hinted that you do nothing but make internet comments. What I have accused you of is being completely ineffective because you fail to understand root causes. Without that understanding whatever actions you take will not succeed except by pure chance.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2015, @05:38PM
Trade is their means to success.
Irrelevant. You said it's 100% about trade, but then when I said it's about power/corporate supremacy, you said power is just a means to an end, and their real goal is personal success. Therefore, it's ultimately not about trade, as I said.
Your ability to use logic and reason has failed you. I haven't even hinted that you do nothing but make internet comments.
Your ability to read has failed. Notice the "if".
What I have accused you of is being completely ineffective because you fail to understand root causes.
Based on absolutely nothing. I said it's not about trade, and you later agreed with me, even though you said it was 100% about trade. You seemingly just contradicted yourself with your own logic.
Furthermore, given the state of the world, I'd say your status as an Enlightened One who understands the True Root Causes (really just pedantry and nothing more) is not helping much.
What needs to be done now is to stop the TPP; regardless of their intentions, that can be done.