Searle's IUD

The copper 7 intra-uterine device (IUD) was removed from the U.S. market in January 1986, but remains avail-able in Malaysia, Western Europe and Australia despite the fact that over 800 lawsuits have been filed in the United States against its maker, G.D. Searle.

The greatest risk associated with the IUD is increased incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID causes scarring of the uterus and the fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility and sterility.

There is disagreement over the rate at which PID occurs. The Food and Drug Administration accepted Searle's claim that PID incidence in Copper 7 users was 2 percent, and found this rate acceptable. During the litigation, medical experts for the plaintiffs put the number closer to 7 percent. A Minnesota jury awarded $8.1 mil-lion to one woman, finding Searle negligent in labeling and representation of the product to the plaintiff's doctor. The case is still on appeal, according to Kay Bruno, senior director of public affairs for Searle.

In Malaysia, more than 20,000 women are currently using IUDs, according to the Utusan Konsumer. Even using the conservative estimate of a 2 percent PID rate, 400 Malaysian women are in danger of contracting PID. The experts' estimate of 7 percent suggests that more than 1200 women will be victims of complications associated with IUD usage.

The Copper 7 has not been banned for sale in the United States, but was removed from the market by Searle in January 1986 because litigation was proving too costly, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, Searle was unable to get any liability insurance for its product, according to Bruno.

Del Monte's Land Grab

While the Philipines is having problems with its Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), Del Monte is taking advantage of the confusion to increase its land holdings. Del Monte rents more than 20,000 hectares of land even though Philippine law prohibits the rental of more than 1,000 hectares by a multinational company, according to Solidaridad II, a Japan-based magazine concerned with Philippine issues.

Responding to this injustice, some farmers formed the Stop the Expansion and Exploitation by Del Monte Movement (SEED). SEED wants to stop Del Monte from expanding its holdings and force the company to reimburse farmers affected by their encroachments.

Del Monte refused to negotiate with the farmers and Solidaridad II reports that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) lacks the enforcement muscle to mediate this dispute. CARP is designed to spread the re-distribution of land over 10 years, beginning with privately held plots larger than 50 hectares and then continuing with smaller plots. Critics of this process emphasize that 100 percent reimbursement to those large landholders who will have their land split up will bankrupt the effort. They propose a graduated scale for compensation, according to the magazine.

No resolution is likely unless the government puts the farmers' interests ahead of the interests of the multinational corporations and the large landholders. In the meantime the farmers have literally put their bodies on the line by prostrating themselves in front of Del Monte's bulldozers.

Sweet Deals End

In the last ten years the United States has reduced its sugar imports from six million tons to 750,000 tons in an effort to attain self-sufficiency in sweeteners. This is having a deleterious impact on Latin American economies.

The Food Security Act of 1985 stipulates that the United States' sugar program should be run at no cost to the taxpayer. Because of this directive, the United States cannot maintain any surplus of sugar. Since 1985, U.S. sugar imports have fallen by 75 percent, according to Latinamerica Press.

This reduction does not bode well for Caribbean countries whose economies are so dependent on sugar and on the United States' continued purchase of their output. The United States' seemingly insatiable sweet tooth has always encouraged the emphasis on sugar production in the Caribbean, but the northern giant is now substantially decreasing its consumption of that sugar.

The United States is not the only country to reduce its reliance on sugar as a sweetener. More health conscious Europeans have also curtailed their intake resulting in less consumption by EEC countries.

Prior to the imposition of quotas, sugar accounted for close to 60 percent of the Dominican Republic's foreign earnings. U.S. imports from there were reduced by 80 percent between 1981 and 1987, removing $265 million from the economy, according to Latinamerica Press.

In 1988 the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided a one time allowance for an extra 290,000 tons of Carib-bean sugar imports. This will be a short lived reprieve until readjustments wean the Caribbean economy from its sugar dependence.