Thai negotiators are currently holding discussions with the European Union (EU) on a free trade agreement (FTA). About 100 police in anti-riot gear blocked the road outside the hotel where the negotiations were being held.
Activists were concerned that the EU might put pressure on Thailand over its medical procurement policies which might cause problems for medical treatment but FTA discussions will not go beyond the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips). The EU's has its own proposal on drug patent expansion, data exclusivity and tougher intellectual property rights known as Trips-Plus.