The US Senate is expected to pass the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) by the end of the week, paving the way for completion of the 12-country Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
Passing of the TPA will prevent Congress from amending any final TPP text negotiated between the countries that account for around 40 per cent of the global economy.
Securing an 'up or down' vote through the TPA before the 'summer recess' is considered President Barack Obama's best and only hope of securing congressional support for the TPP before next year's election.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb said earlier this week that congressional backing for the TPA could quickly lead to finalisation of the TPP negotiations.
A recently leaked chapter of the TPPA shows Australia acting to shield the PBS and other key health policy areas from an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism.
The draft Investment Chapter is from January this year, and shows extensive progress in the development of an ISDS mechanism.
It showed the Australian Government giving in principle but conditional agreement to the ISDS mechanism, with specific carve-outs for the PBS, TGA, Medicare and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.
US-based sources recently told BiotechDispatch that Australia was leading the opposition to the inclusion of extended data exclusivity requirements for biologics.
Health Minister Sussan Ley also recently wrote to Australian-based industry bodies denying the need for any extension in the data exclusivity period for biologics, from the current five years to 12.
