Eric Crampton • Aug 10, 2015 •
I agree with much of what Brian Easton says here about the TPP.The car dispute between the US, Mexico and Japan (and Canada) is likely a bigger dealbreaker than dairy;The Pharmac provisions don't break Pharmac, they just make it more expensive for the ... Read More
Eric Crampton • Aug 08, 2015 •
I don't think that the extensions to drug patents hinted at under TPP are for the good. But it isn't obvious that they aren't.Let's run the story.Most new drug development happens in the US and EU, with more coming in now from China as well. It is... Read More
Eric Crampton • Aug 08, 2015 •
The recent leaked TPP copyright section has a few options for copyright duration. All of them act only to increase rents paid to existing rights-holders rather than to encourage new creation.A simple illustration.Suppose that you create a piece of IP t... Read More
Eric Crampton • Aug 05, 2015 •
Rob Hosking provides excellent analysis over at The NBR. The main points:Secrecy is necessary in negotiating trade dealsAnti-trade activists used the secrecy to conjure wild imaginations of bad things, along with insinuation that National would deem an... Read More
Eric Crampton • May 27, 2015 •
I like our Trade Minister:New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser has attacked the Canadian milk production system, saying the industry belongs in the former Soviet Union and its market should be open to competition. A Canadian dairy industry analyst has come out to say he can not fathom New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser’s aggressive attack on the Canadian milk … Read More
Bill Kaye-Blake • Feb 12, 2014 •
I have avoided discussing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations, because it’s complex and secret and yet to be decided. But a statement from Tariana Turia, Associate Minister of Health, leads me to comment. Turia’s plain packaging for cigarettes bill just passed its first vote. The bill is intended to reduce the sale of cigarettes by making […] … Read More
Eric Crampton • Nov 18, 2013 •
David Farrar has a great summary of NZ's rather decent position in the TPP negotiations as revealed by Wikileaks. I can't see any spots where I'd disagree with what he's saying. But I'll add a bit. Farrar is certainly right that the NZ government could... Read More