Date: 11 September 2011
Source: KEIonline.org

Krista of KEI asked whether the US will table any text after the Chicago round. Lead US negotiator Barbara Weisel confirmed that the US will table labor text later, but that it will complete its intellectual property proposal this week.

I asked Barbara, based on the IUT article, if USTR would confirm that it is abandoning the May 10th agreement, and whether their white paper on access to medicines will be public.

USTR confirms that it will release a public paper on access to medicines tomorrow (Monday). Barbara Weisel "prefers not to comment" on content at this time. She emphasized at length the time they have spent consulting the full range of stakeholders.

Sanya asked about differential treatment for developing countries. Barbara said development is a cross-cutting horizontal issue.

On release the text: the countries signed an agreement at the onset of negotiations that the text will remain confidential. Lori asked if they would release the confidentiality agreement itself. Barbara said it`s something they have to discuss.

Jenn Flynn from HealthGAP asked whether the US or others had presented any positive evidence basis for TRIPS+ proposals in the TPPA. Barbara answered that the parties don`t necessarily talk "philosophy" or engage in academic debate during negotiations. Jenn pressed and asked whether the US had presented any evidence. Barbara repeated her view that that`s not necessarily how negotiations are conducted.