year's Special 301 Report highlights concerns regarding market access barriers affecting pharmaceutical products in Algeria and Indonesia.
In this respect, the United States notes that, according to a October 2012 WTO report entitled "More Trade for Better Health?, International Trade and Tariffs on Health Products", India maintains the highest tariffs on medicines, inputs to medicines and medical devices among the WTO members identified in the report. These tariffs, combined with burdensome internal charges and regulatory challenges facing pharmaceuticals and medical devices, can hinder the Indian government's efforts to promote increased access to healthcare products.
Moreover, government practices including unreasonable regulatory approval delays and unfairness that may arise from non-transparent reimbursement policies can discourage the development of new drugs and other medical products. The criteria, rationale, and operation of such measures are often nontransparent or not fully disclosed to patients or to pharmaceutical and medical device companies seeking to market their products. USTR encourages trading partners to provide appropriate mechanisms for transparency, procedural and due process protections, and opportunities for public engagement in the context of their relevant health care systems.
U.S. industry has expressed concerns regarding the policies of several developed trading partners, including Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Taiwan, on issues related to innovation in the pharmaceutical sector and other aspects of health care goods and services. Examples include:
- With respect to New Zealand, U.S. industry has expressed serious concerns about the policies and operation of New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PhARMAC). Industry continues to express concerns regarding, among other things, the lack of transparency, fairness, and predictability of the PhARMAC pricing and reimbursement regime, as well as the negative aspects of the overall climate for innovative medicines in New Zealand.
- With respect to Turkey, U.S. industry continues to express significant concern regarding the lack of fairness and the slow pace of pharmaceutical manufacturing inspections.
The United States is seeking to establish or continue dialogues with relevant trading partners to address these and other sectoral concerns, and encourage a common understanding on questions related to innovation in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. The United States is also continuing its engagement with China to promote fair and transparent policies in this sector.
The United States shares policy goals and concerns related to health care with other countries, including challenges surrounding aging populations and rising health care costs. The United States also shares the objective of continued improvement in the health and quality of life of its citizens, and the objective of delivering care in the most efficient and responsive way possible. The United States looks forward to engaging with these trading partners on the concerns noted above.
24
