The Peruvian Implementation of the US-Peru FTA: A Model for the World with Room for Improvement

Abstract

Under the Democratic controlled Congress, the leadership of the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Representatives led the renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the United States and Peru, Colombia and Panama reaching a better balance between the protection of intellectual property IP rights and access to medicines. The US-Peru FTA was the only one of the three agreements that has been ratified so far by the congresses of both countries, and Peru is the only country of the three that has implemented the New Trade Policy in its national laws. The article analyzes the final text of the FTA vis à vis the implementation performed by the Peruvian government. A careful review of the agreement shows that the government of Peru took advantage of many of the improvements of the renegotiation done by the Ways and Means Committee seeking to ensure access to affordable medicines while fully respecting the FTA. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in this implementation. Countries changing their IP laws should analyze the Peruvian example and learn from it.