A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Global Healthcare Talks Are Among Casualties of the Battle in Seattle
It looked like an adaptation of May 1968 with a mise en scène by Ken Russell. As international delegations streamed into Seattle for the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, they were greeted—not by local dignitaries mouthing platitudes—but by a swarm of dissidents voicing some altogether less-civil sentiments. Mock sea turtles and topless vegan lesbians joined ranks with members of labour unions, environmentalists, and human rights activists to shut down the summit. José Bové went sleepless in Seattle stoking the flames of his "Roquefort libération." Darting in and out of this colourful carnival, anarchists ran amok, trashing what they perceived to be overt symbols of global corporate culture. Amid all of this, the business of globalization skidded to a standstill. International agreements on healthcare-related issues were among the casualties, although you probably wouldn't be aware of it based on media coverage.
"Almost every meeting that I attended involved discussions revolving around healthcare," said Ed Rozynski, executive vice president for global strategy and analysis at the US-based Health Industry Manufacturers Association (HIMA). "In fact, it was one of the key topics at the WTO."
Rozynski went to Seattle specifically to press for early action on the Accelerated Tariff Liberalization (ATL) agreement. This pact would eliminate tariffs on medical devices and seven other sectors in the Asia-Pacific (APEC) region. At the meeting he had also hoped to lay the foundations for a discussion on technical barriers to trade to be taken up at the next round of trade negotiations. "Nothing
APEC members were prepared to forward their tariff details to the WTO and request implementation of the ATL on a provisional basis. There was broad support for the agreement among European and US industry, said Rozynski: an estimated 31% of EU external exports and 29% of US exports go to APEC nations. EUCOMED also strongly supports the initiative. The talks stalled, however, because of attempted tinkering by EU trade officials. While the European Commission supports the principle of tariff reduction, it sought a more broad-based proposal than what was on the table. "The ATL was presented as a package by APEC to the WTO," explained Rozynski. "They were in no mood to let negotiators start unraveling it at the meeting." In many ways, the meeting was a microcosm of the WTO breakdown as a whole.
"Outside events really had no impact on the negotiations," claimed Rozynski. "The whole reason the overall meeting fell apart is because no agreement could be reached on agricultural subsidies, which is a crucial issue for the United States and Europe. And the developing countries were not particularly interested in having Clinton lecture them about raising their labour standards. In the end, instead of a united WTO, you had three separate factions--the United States, Europe, and the developing countries," said Rozynski. "You can't reach a consensus under those circumstances."
Nevertheless, Rozynski is fairly sanguine about the future. HIMA and EUCOMED can achieve their objectives through other organizations, he maintained. "There are extremely viable regional agreements, and even within APEC there are ongoing discussions. In fact, regulatory and harmonization issues are scheduled to be addressed at a meeting in February. And, of course, there is the global harmonization task force," said Rozynski. Even within the existing WTO framework, he added, there are opportunities to dismantle unfair barriers to trade.
These and a host of other issues affecting the device industry will be the talk of yet another town in January, when the Global Medical Device Conference convenes in Cancún, Mexico. I think it's safe to assume that the event, which takes place on 16–18 January, will be a much more genteel affair than Seattle. And while you may indeed encounter some sea turtles, rest assured that they will be of the reptilian kind.
Norbert Sparrow
Editor
