Intellectual Property Rights
The U.S. commitment to development as it relates
to migration depends on the work of more than one
government agency, since USAID does not have the
capacity or jurisdiction to address all migration topics. The
United States needs cooperation among the Departments
of Treasury, Commerce, Homeland Security, and other
agencies. Coordinating these bureaucracies is a real test of
the U.S. commitment to development.
• Strengthening temporary worker programs:
Temporary “guest” workers are a flexible source of
labor, helping to fill jobs when there is a shortage
of U.S.-born workers willing to do the work. This
arrangement could benefit both the United States and
the workers’ countries of origin. Currently, however,
there are too few “guest workers” slots available to
the many low-skilled migrants seeking to work in the
United States.
www.bread.org
–
–
2007e
–
2006
–
2005
–
2004
–
2003
–
2002
–
2001
–
2000
–
1999
–
1998
–
1997
–
1996
–
1995
–
1994
–
1993
–
1992
1991
1990
–
In 2003, President Bush announced a new plan to fight
HIV/AIDS. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) currently provides life-saving treatment
to some 1.73 million people.29 The success of PEPFAR and
the strong bipartisan support for the program are signs of a
strong U.S. commitment to providing developing countries
with access to essential medicines. But the United States’
strict rules about intellectual property rights counteract
these efforts to make life-saving drugs more accessible to lowincome people.
With strong U.S. support, the WTO’s Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement
put in place intellectual property rights on patents for
medicines. Unfortunately, the patent protection mechanism
that is part of TRIPS can increase drug prices.30 The cost
of essential medicines often puts them out of reach for
• Improving the efficiency and lowering the cost of people who live on less than $1 a day.31 The vast majority of
remittances: Families in other countries could receive HIV-positive people in the developing world do not receive
larger remittance flows if the cost of remittances antiretroviral (ARV) drugs through PEPFAR or any other
was lowered. Transaction fees reduced the value program.
TRIPS is too restrictive because it extends patents on medof remittances to Latin American countries by an
28 These transaction costs
icines for 20 years; makes it difficult for developing countries
estimated $4 billion in 2004.
to copy drug formulations for generic production; and limrepresent lost opportunities for development.
its countries’ ability to cheaply import essential medicines.32
• Creating incentives for return migration: The For countries such as Brazil, which as part of its national
United States can support return migration of public health strategy provides citizens with free medicines,
temporary workers by negotiating incentive packages including ARV therapy for HIV/AIDS, TRIPS regulations
with developing countries. Such packages might can compromise national healthcare programming.
include portable retirement accounts available to
On the other hand, developed countries and the busiworkers after they return home.
nesses they represent in trade negotiations argue that strong
intellectual property rights rules
are necessary to promote the research and development of new
Remittance and Capital Flows to Developing Countries
medications. Without TRIPS,
drug companies might not be
375 – US$ billions
sufficiently rewarded for their in325 –
vestment in the research needed
to create new medicines. TRIPS
275 –
is thus essential to ensuring that
Foreign Direct
225 –
businesses continue to invest in
Investment
research. In addition, concerns
Recorded
Private debt and
175 –
Remittances
porfolio equity
have been raised over the safety
125 –
and quality of generic versions of
Official
patented medicines. Without ad75 –
Development
equate safeguards such as those
Assistance
25 –
provided by the Food and Drug
-25 –
Administration, generically produced medicines may be ineffective and even dangerous.
Sources: Global Economic Prospects 2006: Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration (World Bank),
Over the past decade, WTO
World Development Indicators 2007, and Global Development Finance 2007.
member countries have worked
Bread for the World Institute 5