All Costs, No Benefits
How TRIPS-plus intellectual property rules in the US-Jordan FTA affect access to medicines
Since enactment of the TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement in 1995, the US has imposed progressively higher levels of intellectual property protection on developing countries, which undermines access to affordable medicines. The US-Jordan free trade agreement introduced a rigid framework of such rules and medicine prices in Jordan have increased 20 per cent since 2001.