Thailand suspends US free trade talks due to poll

[Judi Lynn]

March 1, 2006

Thailand suspends US free trade talks due to poll
(Reuters)

BANGKOK - Thailand has suspended free trade talks with the United States and delayed signing a deal with Japan until after an April 2 election called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, officials said on Wednesday.

"There will be no negotiating or consulting rounds until we have a new government," Karoon Kittisathaporn, Thailand's chief negotiator in the US talks, told reporters.

The talks were already in trouble after Washington threatened last month to walk away unless Bangkok agreed to reach a deal by spring. Thaksin said at the time his government was in no hurry.

The Thai leader called a snap election last Friday to defuse a political crisis marked by growing protests demanding he resign over allegations of corruption and abuses of power.
(snip/...)

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=31441

[Double T]

1. Looks like NOBODY will put up with the bushco bullying or threats.....

anymore. Other countries will negotiate deals on their own time table.

[grahamhgreen]

2. Thaksin is a personal friend of Bush, Sr., and the richest man in Thailand

[Tanuki]

3. Thai health care

would be dramatically undermined by the U.S.-proposed "deal", but that angle doesn't get much coverage in the U.S. press. More here:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/pr/2006/01-11-2006.cfm

<snip>the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that acceptance of the US proposal could restrict access to essential medicines in Thailand and endanger the country's national HIV/AIDS treatment program.

MSF is concerned that the US, as it has succeeded in doing in other regional agreements, will push for provisions that could extend patent terms and limit Thailand's ability to protect the health of its people by producing low-cost generic versions of patented drugs. <snip>

"We fear that if the Thai government accepts the US proposal, doctors in Thailand will face substantial obstacles in providing treatment to their patients living with HIV/AIDS, especially for those that require newer antiretroviral (ARV) medicines to survive," said Paul Cawthorne, MSF Head of Mission in Thailand. "This week, we have seen thousands of Thais demand that their government protect access to medicines and defend the national HIV/AIDS treatment program. For the sake of the thousands of Thais who depend on the low-cost of medicines, we hope they succeed."

Using locally produced medicines, the Thai government has initiated a program of universal access to subsidized treatment that currently reaches over 80,000 Thai people living with HIV/AIDS. MSF has been providing ARV treatment in Thailand for the past five years, and is now providing support to the Thai national program. If the US provisions are accepted, thereby ruling out the generic competition that could drive down prices for newer patented drugs, the Thai government will not be able to continue to expand access to treatment and provide effective second-line drug combinations which are needed when the initial drug combinations no longer work. The current cost of one second-line drug is over $3,500 per patient per year — nearly ten times the cost of the most commonly-used first-line triple combination. <snip>

[Toots]

4. Nobody can take Keph's place but you are sure giving it a whirl.

Thank you. :thumbsup: You certainly keep us up to date.

[stepnw1f]

5. I Hope this Free Trade Crap Dies

It's a scam for low wages... end of subject. Only the super rich benefit from this crap.

[MisterP]

6. they still have a couple empty office buildings after they decided to

remove investment restrictions--after all, the market is our god, and bubbles never ever happen