India and the European Union will soon begin discussions to resolve the issue of the seizures of medicine consignments.
In this regard, a delegation led by the European Commission’s Director-General for Trade, Mr David O’Sullivan, will visit India to initiate the dialogue.
This follows India’s complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the seizure of generic drugs.
The seizures of medicines were made on the charge of alleged patent infringement. The medicines were bound for Latin American and African markets.
According to the WTO dispute settlement rules, the parties concerned need to try and amicably resolve the issues within 60 days by entering into a mutual consultation process.
If the consultations fail, then the matter will be referred to the WTO Dispute Settlement Panel. The Commerce Secretary, Dr Rahul Khullar, pointed out that trade disputes could be "messy, protracted and lead to political ill-will". Therefore, India wanted to resolve the issue soon. India maintains that the generic drugs were compliant with international treaties and that they have helped in reducing the cost of life-saving medicines.
Source: Exim News Service, New Delhi, 20 May 2010