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How The East Was Won: A Critique Of U.S. Tactics In Negotiating Patent Protection For Pharmaceuticals In Thailand, Michael Begg

Washington International Law Journal

In February 1992, Thailand amended its patent law to provide patent protection for drugs. The amendment resulted from pressure by the United States pharmaceutical industry and the United States Trade Representative; it was not a Thai internal policy decision. Bleak prospects in the U.S. drug market due to a climate of increasing restraints on drug prices have led the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association to push for patent protection for their products abroad. Consequently, the United States Trade Representative pressured Thailand to amend its Patent Act to include pharmaceuticals, threatening to use Section 337 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1930 …