Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
3-2015
Abstract
Regulatory issues relating to public health are a source of tensions in recent trade and investment negotiations, treaties and disputes. Issues arising from the intersection between public health regulation and trade and investment treaties have given Asian states pause for thought. They have led to a critical need to confront the scope and meaning of legal obligations vis-a-vis public health and regulatory objectives, and their implications for stakeholder interests. The intersection and resulting tensions have already led the WTO, WHO and WIPO to work together in an unprecedented manner to address some of the issues at the global level. The laws evolving around these issues are demonstrating a notable divergence. As an example, the debate on access to medicines demonstrates divergent approaches to solutions. This paper examines the reasons behind legal and policy divergences in public health issues in the context of treaty obligations, with examples from Asia, and suggests that a convergence of purpose(s) is needed for a convergence of solutions to be found, in order to deal with such tensions.
Keywords
trade, investment, public health, TRIPS, flexibilities, medicines, FTAs, BITs
Discipline
Asian Studies | International Trade Law | Law and Society | Public Health
Research Areas
Public International Law, Regional and Trade Law
Publication
Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy
Volume
10
Issue
1
First Page
157
Last Page
191
ISSN
1819-5164
Publisher
National Taiwan University Press
Citation
HSU, Locknie.
Regulatory flexibilities and tensions in public health and trade: An Asian perspective. (2015). Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy. 10, (1), 157-191.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1774
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, International Trade Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, Public Health Commons