Leaked: Obama Goes to Bat for Big Pharma in TPP Deal

A draft of part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was reportedly leaked to  Politico. The draft allegedly suggests the US is demanding increased protections for pharmaceutical companies and restricting access to the lower-cost generic versions of drugs worldwide.

Essentially, this means the TPP would "give U.S. pharmaceutical firms unprecedented protections against competition from cheaper generic drugs, possibly transcending the patent protections in U.S. law," or so Politico reports. 

So is the United States going to bat for Big Pharma? 

According to Politico, if this draft of the TPP becomes law:

Pharmaceutical companies could dump trillions of dollars of additional health care costs on patients, businesses and governments...The highly technical 90-page document, cluttered with objections from other TPP nations, shows that U.S. negotiators have fought aggressively and, at least until Guam, successfully on behalf of Big Pharma.

Of course, no provision is ever final until the entire deal is done —and U.S. officials claim the major compromises tend to happen at the very end of trade negotiations. However, the real horse-trading is expected to begin now that Obama has signed “fast-track” legislation, which requires Congress to pass or reject TPP without amendments.

According to Politico, Americans saved an estimated $239 billion on drugs in 2013 by using the generic version. 

Big Pharma is reportedly pushing for TPP to guarantee them 12 years of exclusivity on all products, which will drive the costs of drugs up. 

So what do you think? Will the TPP set a precedent that crushes the generic drug industry under a mountain of regulation and litigation? Sound off below.