Africa: U.S. Trade Pacts Could Undermine AIDS Fight, Critics Say

The United States came under attack this week at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, with some critics saying it is pressuring countries to give up their right to make generic AIDS drugs in return for free-trade pacts. Under WTO rules, developing countries can ignore foreign patents and produce their own versions of expensive drugs in times of health crisis. Yet there is nothing to prevent a country from setting patent restrictions in a bilateral agreement.