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Bartering With A Nation's Health Or Improving Access To Pharmaceuticals? The United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Katherine M. Van Maren
Bartering With A Nation's Health Or Improving Access To Pharmaceuticals? The United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Katherine M. Van Maren
Washington International Law Journal
Providing access to affordable medicines and rewarding innovation produces a difficult tension in the global economy. Different nations deal with this tension differently, as illustrated by the United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement ("U.S.-Australia FTA") negotiations. Both nations stood to benefit greatly from reduced or eliminated tariffs. During negotiations, both nations sought to capitalize on the opportunity to alter certain practices that hindered trade. One such practice was Australia's fifty-five-year-old Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ("PBS"). The PBS controls prices for most medicines within Australia. Australian consumers are concerned that the U.S.-Australia FTA will adversely affect access to affordable medicines because free trade …