NEWS - EU NEWS

Seizures of pharmaceuticals passing through the EU on their way from India to low and middle income countries are leading to an official trade dispute.

India accuses the EU of preventing much-needed affordable generic medicines from reaching poorer countries and is allegedly planning to launch an official complaint at the World Trade Organisation. The EU, on the other hand, points to the fact that the vast majority of products, i.e. 93 %, was not confiscated by customs due to patent infringements, but as counterfeit medicines with potentially harmful effects.

A new judgment on counterfeit goods by a British court may also affect trade in pharmaceuticals, as it denies producers the right to expect customs to seize fake replicas of their produce.

(Source: EUobserver, Julian Harris, “EU and India risk trade war on fake drugs”, 14.08.2009, http://euobserver.com/7/28547)