* Pacific nations negotiating sweeping trade pact
* Announcement of a deal expected on Monday in Atlanta
* Talks have been under way for five years
* Deal on biologic drugs the last piece in jigsaw -sources
* Ratification hurdle still to come after deal agreement
By Krista Hughes and Kevin Krolicki
ATLANTA, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A dozen Pacific Rim nations
prepared on Monday to announce the most sweeping trade
liberalization pact in a generation, a deal that could reshape
industries and influence everything from the price of cheese to
the cost of cancer treatments.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership seeks to cut trade barriers
and set common standards for 40 percent of the world economy and
would stand as a legacy-defining achievement for U.S. President
Barack Obama, if it is ratified by Congress.
Lawmakers in other TPP countries must also approve the deal.
The final round of negotiations in Atlanta, which began on
Wednesday, had snared on the question of how long a monopoly
period should be allowed on next-generation biotech drugs, until
the United States and Australia negotiated a compromise.
The TPP deal has been controversial because of the secret
negotiations that have shaped it over the past five years and
the perceived threat to an array of interest groups from Mexican
auto workers to Canadian dairy farmers.
Although the complex deal sets tariff reduction schedules on
hundreds of imported items from pork and beef in Japan to pickup
trucks in the United States, one issue had threatened to derail
talks until the end - the length of the monopolies awarded to
the developers of new biological drugs.
Negotiating teams had been deadlocked over the question of
the minimum period of protection to the rights for data used to
make biologic drugs, made by companies including Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE)
PFE.N , Roche Group's Genentech and Japan's Takeda
Pharmaceutical Co 4502.T .
The United States had sought 12 years of protection to
encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in expensive
biological treatments like Genentech's cancer treatment Avastin.
Australia, New Zealand and public health groups had sought a
period of five years to bring down drug costs and the burden on
state-subsidized medical programs.
Negotiators agreed on a compromise on minimum terms that was
short of what U.S. negotiators had sought and that would
effectively grant biologic drugs a period of about years free
from the threat of competition from generic versions, people
involved in the closed-door talks said.
The Washington, D.C.-based Biotechnology Industry
Association said it was "very disappointed" by reports that U.S.
negotiators had not been able to convince Australia and other
TPP members to adopt the 12-year standard approved by Congress.
"We will carefully review the entire TPP agreement once the
text is released by the ministers," the industry lobby said in a
statement.
FINAL HOURS
A politically charged set of issues surrounding protections
for dairy farmers was also addressed in the final hours of
talks, officials said. New Zealand, home to the world's biggest
dairy exporter, Fonterra FCG.NZ , wanted increased access to
U.S., Canadian and Japanese markets.
Separately, the United States, Mexico, Canada and Japan also
agreed rules governing the auto trade that dictate how much of a
vehicle must be made within the TPP region in order to qualify
for duty-free status.
The North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the
United States and Mexico mandates that vehicles have a local
content of 62.5 percent. The way that rule is implemented means
that just over half of a vehicle needs to be manufactured
locally. It has been credited with driving a boom in
auto-related in investment in Mexico.
The TPP would give Japan's automakers, led by Toyota Motor
Corp 7203.T , a freer hand to buy parts from Asia for vehicles
sold in the United States but sets long phase-out periods for
U.S. tariffs on Japanese cars and light trucks.
The TPP deal being readied for expected announcement on
Monday also sets minimum standards on issues ranging from
workers' rights to environmental protection. It also sets up
dispute settlement guidelines between governments and foreign
investors separate from national courts.
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Graphic on TPP trade http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/tpp/
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