[Photo] Pharmaceutical fight brewing in KORUS FTA negotiations

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has asked US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to designate South Korea as a “Priority Foreign Country” due to alleged import restrictions on US pharmaceutical products, and claimed that the government’s policies represent a threat to the KORUS FTA. In response, 16 South Korean and US civic organizations, including the Association of Citizens for Hygienic Treatment, Knowledge Ecology International, and the Jinbo Network Center, then sent a letter on Mar. 12 to both Lighthizer and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong saying that, “the rights of patients should take priority over commercial policy” and “it is wrong for PhRMA to request designating South Korea as a ‘Priority Foreign Country’ and suggesting retaliatory measures.”

The issue will likely be the subject of intense debate when trade representatives from South Korea and the US reconvene for the third round of negotiations to amend the agreement. The photo shows negotiators meeting for the first round of discussions in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5. (provided by Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy)