The acceptance of Costa Rica into the Pacific Alliance, a new Latin American trade bloc, has been reported with a certain level of interest and excitement around the world. Israel is one of the various observer nations in this new bloc, and Arutz Sheva (Channel 7) recently remarked on the trade and economic opportunities this alliance could bring to that country. Next on Costa Rica’s agenda will be to consider joining the Trans Pacific Partnership, which could prove to be a disadvantage.

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a controversial international trade agreement proposal spearheaded by the United States. For a legislative proposal, its full text has been somewhat shrouded in secrecy. As a result of this apparent obfuscation, media reports on the TPP have been scarce. It is perhaps for this reason that there are a few opinion pieces on the matter that point to the alleged dangers of this lesser-known trade proposal.

Writing for online magazine Slate, Ariel Bogle writes about the potential bio-piracy issues of the TPP:

The West’s infatuation with organic foods and natural ingredients can be found in pharmaceutical and agricultural companies, too.

[…] 26 percent of all new approved drugs over the last 30 years are either natural products or have been derived from a natural material, and that number is set to grow. Just think about the ascendency of the acai berry.

[The] commercialization of genetic resources found in biologically diverse areas like the Amazon and India comes with a cost. In a practice sometimes called bio-piracy, companies use patents to secure lucrative monopolies on plants, genes, and traditional knowledge in developing countries, often without cutting native people in on the profits.

Ariel Bogle continues to illustrate the dangers of bio-piracy, which she compares to “colonial pillaging.” An example of bio-piracy is the 2011 lawsuit filed by the government of the Republic of India against Monsanto and other agro-chemical giants:

accusing the company of stealing India’s indigenous plants in order to re-engineer them into patented varieties. Brinjal, also known in Western nations as eggplant, is a native Indian crop for which there are roughly 2,500 different unique varieties.

[… ] Monsanto has repeatedly tried to commercially market its own GM variety of brinjal called Bt brinjal. But massive public outcry against planned commercial approval of Monsanto’s “frankencrop” variety in 2010 led to the government banning it for an indefinite period of time. But Monsanto is still stealing native crops, including brinjal, and quietly working on GM varieties of them in test fields, which is a clear violation of India’s Biological Diversity Act (BDA).

Since the TPP allegedly does not contain bio-piracy provisions, and since we know from WikiLeaks that TPP would give companies such as Monsanto the right to file patents on plants, animals, diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical treatments. For Costa Rica, this could mean allowing representatives of foreign companies to places such as the Chorotega territories in Guanacaste to research medicinal plants and herbs that they can file patents on without sharing profits with the indigenous.

For the reasons stated above, Costa Rica should think very carefully before joining the TPP.