"The new deal has opened up a window of opportunities to Bangladeshi manufacturers, but its implementation will depend much on solving the procedural problems and prompt action by the government," Dr Ananya Raihan, a research fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), now in Cancun, told UNB yesterday.

First, he explained, the new deal explicitly accepts a protectionist framework, where rich nations can export to poor countries, but 23 rich countries were allowed to bar imports from developing nations.

Then the long list of new regulatory requirements does not apply to compulsory licenses in countries with capacity for manufacturing.

And finally, the entire framework of export restrictions is designed to limit opportunities instead of promoting economic efficiency, the punitive rationale for free trade agreements (FTAs).

However, the good news is that the developing countries resisted pressure from the US, EU, Japan and other developing nations to confine the agreement to only a few diseases or extraordinary circumstanceYs.

"The experts from developing countries mentioned that for a WTO deal it will be more than a public relationing exercise for a new round of trade rules, it should actually work in practice," Dr Ananya said.

He said the WTO took a 52-word mechanism that was endorsed by the European Parliament in 2002 and created a 3200-word maze of red tape that was plainly designed to frustrate and undermine the objectives of protecting public health and promoting access to medicines for all.

He identified main problems with the rules and explained that the WTO was requiring the issuance of two compulsory licenses when the new mechanism would be used. The WTO has added many constraints to the business practices of the generic companies.

Dr Ananya said the WTO deal introduced an extra-layer of uncertainty as it stated that the system should not be an instrument to pursue industrial or commercial policy objectives, creating uncertainty over the role that would be played by the businesses that manufacture and sell generic drugs.

The decision leaves it unclear whether economic efficiency is a ground for determining a lack of manufacturing capacity in the importing country, he said.