Reducing dependence on pharmaceuticals and meat is a priority in the T-MEC: Ebrard

Reducing Mexico’s dependence on other countries to develop the pharmaceutical and meat sectors is an issue that takes on greater relevance in the review of the T-MEC, declared yesterday Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Economy.

“The conversation about how we are going to reduce inconvenient dependency in some sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, is important,” the official commented to the media at the end of his participation in the launch of the portal of the linkage system between the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris).

This is a consultation site on current patents in Mexico, particularly regarding medicines.

“Why is it inconvenient?” Ebrard continued, “Because you have dependencies of more than 80, 85 percent. Examples, APIS (active ingredient), good worse, KSM (essential raw materials) are the number one precursor for all medicines, they have a lot to do with advanced petrochemistry. Well, the dependence we have is practically 90 percent, and it comes from one country. If they don’t send you the KSM, you can’t make medicines.”

He explained that Mexico’s dependence on APIS is close to 90 percent. “So we have to reduce that dependence, it is for reasons of self-interest,” he indicated.

Ebrard was asked about the issues that were discussed last week with the countries that are part of the Mexico, United States and Canada Treaty (T-MEC), since they represented the beginning of the review that will officially take place in July.

“What progress was made in this first round of formal talks? First, regarding the sequence of the review. The important thing is that we have already established terms of reference, conditions, work tables and we have already proposed the sequence that will occur in the coming weeks,” he responded to this newspaper.

He explained that in the meetings the way of working on the contents and the first conversations about the common vision of future topics were also agreed upon.

When referring to the announced portal, he highlighted that it is aimed at citizens. “We need these types of steps that we are taking to be fully known and taken advantage of by all of Mexican society,” he expressed.