NFTC Chair Testimony: Failure to Implement TPP Bad for Business
Not implementing the Trans-Pacific Partnership would put U.S. commercial interests at risk and trade agreements in Asia would be dictated by China’s needs, Alan Wolff, chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council, wrote in testimony submitted in advance of a Jan. 13 ITC hearing on the probable effects of TPP’s entry into force (here). While acknowledging the agreement isn’t perfect, Wolff highlighted several provisions that NFTC deems as beneficial for international commerce, and said the group would support Congress and the White House ironing out several TPP issues cited by the business community. For example, the pharmaceutical industry is concerned about the time period of data protection for biologics in the agreement. TPP would give five years of data protection for the drugs, compared with U.S. law, which extends 12 years of exclusivity for biologic test data, meaning the information can’t be used by imitators to create biosimilars (see 1511060028).
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Wolff also expressed optimism that China would accede to the agreement at some point, indicating that TPP’s mere implementation will boost global competitiveness, which would entice China to join. “While China is probably not ready to consider applying for accession to the TPP and will not be ready for the foreseeable future, each accession negotiation and the implementation of TPP should be carried out with a view to its potential impact on inclusion at some point, however distant, of the world's largest exporter,” Wolff said.