A law professor at Auckland University says New Zealand has been sold down the river in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, with affordable medicine prices sacrificed for dairy access.
Jane Kelsey warns the TPPA is anything but a 'free trade' deal, with monopoly rights of life-saving medicine given to Big Pharma.
'While Australia was fighting US demands on medicines, our government seemed to be lost in action and obsessed with selling more dairy,' says Kelsey.
"I suspect any new dairy access is largely smoke and mirrors".
Labour's Acting Leader Annette King agreed, saying the TPPA deal has no meaningful gains for New Zealand dairy.
"The deal falls well below expectations with only disappointing crumbs for our dairy industry," says King.
However, Prime Minister John Key contends that the agreement will be beneficial to New Zealand trade, diminishing tariffs on 93 per cent of exports to the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Peru.