title: Evolving trade policy and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: does it threaten Vietnam's access to medicine and its progress towards scaling up HIV prevention, treatment and care?
abstract: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) has undergone 18 rounds of secretive negotiation between the USA and 11 Asia-Pacific countries. Aiming at a free trade area, this multilateral trade proposal covers all aspects of commercial relations among the countries involved. Despite some anticipated positive impacts in trade, specific articles in this proposal's intellectual property and transparency chapters might negatively impact access to medicine, in general, and to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, in particular, in Vietnam. Drawing on a desk review and qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 key informants from government, academia, hospitals and civil society, we analyse various provisions of the proposal being negotiated leaked after the 14th round of negotiations in September 2012. Findings suggest that the TPP could lead to increased monopoly protection and could limit technological advancements within the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, resulting in higher medicine prices in Vietnam. This outcome would have a significant impact on Vietnam's ability to achieve goals for HIV prevention, treatment and care, and create barriers to universal health-care coverage. This research provides unique evidence for Vietnam to advocate for more equitable pharmaceutical provisions in and to raise awareness of the implications of the TPP among the pharmaceutical stakeholder community in Vietnam.
authors.affiliation: a Hanoi School of Public Health , Hanoi , Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen Nhat
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Linh
authors.forename: Nguyen Thanh
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Huong
authors.forename: Hua Thanh
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Thuy
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D003132:Commerce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents
keywords: ARVs; Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP); Vietnam; access to medicine; intellectual properties; medicine price