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Oxfam calls on EU not to shut down ‘pharmacy of the developing world’

On the eve of a high-level summit between the leaders of India and the European Union in Delhi, Oxfam is calling on the EU not to pressurise India into agreeing new trade rules that could deny hundreds of millions of people access to affordable medicines. The negotiations, which have been on-going for four years, are a means for the two economies to agree on a trade pact and forge a new commercial relationship. The EU, backed by multinational pharmaceutical companies, are trying to impose new intellectual property and investment (IP) rules in India, which would result in drastically higher medicine prices for the poorest people across the globe.