When Thailand's Minister of Health Mongkol Na Songkhla arrives in Washington next week, President Bush and Congress must recognize the harmful consequences and dubious nature of his agenda.  Namely, his agenda to convince our policy makers that Thailand, in order to pay the cost of treating that nation's AIDS and heart disease patients, must engage in state-sponsored theft of medical innovation owned and invented by American companies and workers. 

In recent months, Thailand has begun stealing American and European medical innovations and patents.  Specifically, Thai health officials have suspended patent protections for two popular AIDS medications and one heart disease drug, commandeering the protected patents of those medications to develop cheaper generic alternatives.

The stated reason for such a move is that Western medicines are too expensive for the "poor" Thai people to afford - a shrewd justification, but one that doesn't hold up to even the most casual scrutiny. 

Thailand's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ranks it among the top 10% of wealthiest countries in the world, and the country spends just three percent of its GDP on healthcare.  To put that number into perspective, Thailand's relatively poor neighbor, Cambodia, spends 10 percent of its GDP on healthcare.  What's more, following the military coup last September, Thailand's generals rewarded themselves with a hefty $9 million pay raise and increased military spending by $1.1 billion.

Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative rightly responded by elevating Thailand to the "Priority Watch List" in its annual Special 301 Report following habitual violations of intellectual property protections and recent threats to abrogate American patents.  The Priority Watch List is an annual list of nations that are particularly hostile to IP rights.  Nations on the list are subject to increased scrutiny and could ultimately face trade sanctions if violations don't improve.

While that is a good first step, more must be done.

To be sure, working to treat AIDS victims is a worthy goal for any country and the world in general.  However, Thailand's reckless disregard for intellectual property rights not only discourages new investment in further life-saving innovations, but should be viewed as a direct assault on the American economy.

Put more bluntly, Thailand's actions undermine the foundation of America's economic strength, jobs and the prosperity of our nation's future. 

The Importance of IP to the U.S. Economy

A bi-partisan study by two of America's leading economists -- Dr. Robert Shapiro, former adviser to President Bill Clinton, and Dr. Kevin Hassett, adviser to Senator John McCain -- estimates the value of IP to the U.S. economy to be worth between $5 trillion and $5.5 trillion, or about 45% of U.S. GDP, and greater than the total GDP of any other nation.

Intellectual property now accounts for roughly one-quarter of all business investment and nearly two-thirds of the market value of large publicly-traded American companies.  In fact, another study by the Milken Institute points out that the biopharmaceutical sector will generate more than three million new American jobs and about $218 billion in earnings for American families by 2014. 

The Role of President Clinton

Unfortunately, former President Bill Clinton is playing a key role in undermining America's patent system and the future of biopharmaceutical workers, including doctors, scientists, engineers and researchers. 

In endorsing the theft of American assets by Thailand, President Clinton recently stood alongside Health Minister Mongkol to speak emphatically about his support for Thailand's efforts to steal patents on key Western medicines in the fight against AIDS. 

In the words of healthcare expert Robert Goldberg, who wrote in the Washington Times this week, "Of course, this endorsement couldn't come at a better time for Thailand's military junta, whose popularity is so low (it yanked a parody of its heavy handedness from YouTube) that it is paying an America PR firm to burnish its image. And the suspension of civil liberties and imprisonment of political opponents have not stopped Doctors Without Borders or Oxfam (which is boycotting Israel to boot) from rallying behind the junta in its effort to deflect attention from suppression of civil liberties by positioning itself as a defender of AIDS patients against the evil drug companies. Having Bubba -- who has his own HIV foundation -- endorse the whole charade was a nice touch."

What Should Be Done?

American workers and companies, who invest billions of dollars into research and development for new, cutting edge medicines that save the lives of billions of people, deserve more from the U.S. government than simply the elevation of Thailand to the Priority Watch List.  

Thailand continues to receive an endless amount of special benefits such as duty-free exports to the United States under the Generalized System of Preferences and significant military and humanitarian aid.  It seems rather inexcusable that the U.S. government has not taken a more aggressive posture toward Thailand and rescinded some of those benefits.

The arrival of Thailand's Minister of Health next week therefore provides a golden opportunity for President Bush and Congress to send a clearer message on IP protection.   Despite President Clinton's endorsement, the message of our public policy officials shouldn't be "We feel your pain."  Rather, the message sent to Thailand must be "You will feel our pain" if you continue your reckless assault on the U.S. economy.