TRIPS, bilateralism, multilateralism & implications: the Jordan-US FTA

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of TRIPS as embodied in both bilateral and multilateral agreements on developing countries. It provides new evidence, derived from the experience of Jordans pharmaceutical sector, which supports the general view that cautions against the negative effects of TRIPS on developing countries. The paper argues that the expected benefits from bilateral agreements between developed and developing countries have been largely overestimated while the costs underestimated. It warns that industrialised countries are using bilateral agreements to extract more concessions from developing countries than those obtained under the Multilateral System of the WTO. This has significant implications not only for future bilateral agreements between developed and developing countries, but also for the multilateral trade system of the WTO as a whole.