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GA TT (General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade) and TRIP (Trade Related Intellectual Property)
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)' was framed in 19 8 and was meant to be a temporary arrangement to settle amicably, among countries, disputes regarding who gets what share of world trade.
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This is achieved by determining both tariff rates and quantitative restrictions on imports and exports globally. Ever since its establishment, GATT remained a provisional treaty - a sort of contractual agreement. GATT was later replaced by World Trade Orgnization (WTO), which modifies the terms of agreements from time to time and places them for consent from as many as about 120 countries which are contracting parties of WTO, but not its members.
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WTO meetings are, held behind closed doors, which makes it easier to forge and strike deals (which may sometimes be against the public interest) before the public is fully aware of the deal.
Although WTO has made the world a better place to do business by allowing more free and fruitful flow of goods and services, it is' believed by some that this benefit has gone mainly to developed countries to the disadvantage of the countries in the Third World.
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It is said that the contracting parties in WTO are equal only in theory, because in practice when developing countries have tried to assert, they have been ignord or overawed by the arguments that countries with the largest share of the world trade have more at stake, and hence their views' should prevail.
In addition to exercising its influence through GAIT, in 1988 the US Congress enacted a law; 'the 'Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act', which gives the American Government power to 'investigate' trade and investment related laws of the other countries to check if they are to the detriment of US interests. If after a 'warning period', the investigated country refuses to change its laws, then the US takes retaliatory action.
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In this connection, US gave a warning to India in February, 1992 to change its laws relating to IPR, copyright arid patents.
However, in India, scientists, professionals and political activists argued that' 'the total package of Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), when applied, would be a sure recipe for economic and technological subjugation of the country".
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In a draft of suggestions for GAIT prepared in 1991/92 by its then Director General, Arthur Dunkel, following are some of the provisions:
(i) India will not be able to give any kind of subsidies for the production of oil seeds or pulses, since the international prices of these commodities are lower than the domestic prices;
(ii) India will have to alter its patent laws by the year 2003, firstlyto introduce product patents and for increase in the duration of the patent, secondly to open up its markets to foreign patent holders (some think that this will raise 10-15 times the prices of life saving drugs and pharmaceuticals, although the Government does not agree with this scepticism) and finally to open the agriculture sector to patented biotechnology for IPR in agriculture sector.
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