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Most of the US position has been set by large lobby groups. They're the only one who have been allowed access to the negotiations or draft text until this leek.

>"Is there no end to what the US Govt will do for large lobby groups?"

This is not an issue. "Large lobby groups" also include organizations such as the EFF, ACLU, unions, and foundations such as the Gates Foundation. And let's not forget the biggest lobby group of all: the American citizenry. If you ever wrote your elected representative to vote a certain way, you are lobbying.

>"...because that would deny its pharma companies a lucrative & desperate market."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't make sense. HIV/AIDS is also a lucrative desperate market with no vaccine currently available. Heck, why is the US okay with malaria being on there even?

Also, wouldn't the Latin-Am governments purchase supplies and any future vaccines from the pharma companies? In a national emergency, the government throws more money at the issue. So, when there is a Chagas vaccine, the Latin-Am government can throw more money at the pharma company who is producing the vaccine. How is the pharma industry benefiting from the US striking out Chagas?

> "taking measures to protect public health by promoting access to medicines for all"

actually means "break the patent". We did just that here in Brazil in the 90s with some AIDS drugs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_in_Brazil#Drug_patent...

Okay I see. Thank you for the link.

let's not forget the biggest lobby group of all: the American citizenry

Does the citizenry have the same level of access to negotiating parts of the TPP as the lobby groups who paid admission? IIRC, the citizenry have been completely cut out of the process. They didn't even know the contents of the TPP. What r0h1n possibly implied is that the US Govt backs interests that are paid for.

>Does the citizenry have the same level of access to negotiating parts of the TPP as the lobby groups who paid admission?

If they wanted it, yes.

Are you serious? You do realise that the only reason you've gotten to read this article was because someone leaked the negotiating draft, right?

While lobbying groups have had direct access to the negotiations, it took someone violating confidentiality for journalists to even be able to tell you what's being discussed.

If senator's phone lines were crammed-full of citizens demanding knowledge of the negotiations, then the citizens would get that knowledge. But they don't. No one cares or even knows about this.

When the executive negotiates without Congress's participation, citizens don't get a say in the process. We don't get to review the agreement, or pressure our representatives into changing or rejecting it. However, special industry groups do, including the RIAA, as advisors to USTR.

- http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120508/17174518835/time-t...

P.S. The TPP stands for Trans Pacific Partnership. A US senator means jack shit to someone in Japan, Australia etc.

> "Large lobby groups" also include organizations such as the EFF, ACLU, unions, and foundations such as the Gates Foundation. And let's not forget the biggest lobby group of all: the American citizenry.

Gag me with a spoon. This is tendentious Pollyannaism. The EFF and ACLU are tiny compared to first tier lobbying firms, and operate on a fraction of their budgets. If you are not paying to play at the level of tens to hundreds of millions of dollars you can write a note some intern might read and ignore. That's not a functioning representative government.

>And let's not forget the biggest lobby group of all: the American citizenry.

Why do you think the TPP drafts and negotiations were kept secret? Exactly so that only lobby group that should EVER count was kept disenfranchised.

The listed diseases were listed as exempt no matter what; any other disease in an emergency was listed as exempt. Therefore with the us wording patent-knockoff chagas cures would be allowed in a chagas emergency.

Still, we need a better way to fund drug research. These treaties should be doing things like cooperative payments towards research. But that wouldn't be "free trade" so the ayn rand/milton friedman/greenspan zealots would have a fit =(

> with the us wording patent-knockoff chagas cures would be allowed in a chagas emergency.

I'm not clear what you meant by that. Are you saying the US objection was to allow generics treatment of Chagas in any form?

FYI - here is the WHO fact sheet on Chagas disease. Seems like a major public health issue for Lat-Am countries.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs340/en/index.htm...

The US is requiring Lat-Am countries to enforce US patents on Chagas treatments, rather than let them be manufactured locally at lower cost.

I don't find this a very plausible argument. Malaria and TB aren't big problems in the states either, so why not treat them the same way? TB drugs ain't cheap.

Given that nearly the entire US Gov't gets high on its pharmaceutical supply daily, it shouldn't be any surprise that Pharmaceutical, Inc. is running the US Gov't on a junky supply line.

There is little that can be done except stop providing massive profits to drug dealers. Good luck with that.

> Is there no end to what the US Govt will do for large lobby groups?

Clearly, from the snippet you reference, the US Govt is striking a compromise. If there were no end, the US would oppose the whole section, not just the inclusion of chagas.

This is rich. So developing countries ought to be happy because the US does not oppose all their efforts to control large-scale public epidemics using emergency measures, but only some. Pray tell me, how is this a "compromise" for anyone other than US pharma companies angry at being denied the ability to milk poorer governments?

Please remember: this exemption isn't for all medication or treatment, but for "HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other epidemics as well as circumstances of extreme urgency or national emergency"

>* If there were no end, the US would oppose the whole section, not just the inclusion of chagas.*

What benevolence!