EU offers out of WTO settlement on drug seizure row

The Government today said the EU wants to settle the row over seizure of Indian generic drugs by some European Union members without involving WTO.

"European Union (EU), recognising the strength of India's case, has offered to settle the matter without resorting to the need to go to the WTO dispute panel stage," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

There have been instances of seizures of consignments of generic (off-patent) medicines at some ports in the EU particularly in the Netherlands while they were in transit to "non-European countries" like Africa and Latin America from India.

He said these seizures symbolises TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual property Aspects) and that their enforcement agencies were targeting the legitimate generic medicines that were against the fundamental principle of freedom of transit under GATT.

They were also against the Doha declaration on TRIPs and public health.

The minister said none of the medicines involved in the seizure had patents either in India or in destination countries.

India had filed a request for consultation with EU and the Netherlands on May 11 under the Dispute Settlement Undertaking of the WTO.

"Two rounds of consultations have taken place," he added.

Some countries in EU had seized Indian drugs alleging that they violated their patent laws.

The Indian side has been maintaining that these are off patent medicines.