[CTC] U.S., others defend IP rights as waiver backers push for text-based talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

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Inside US Trade
U.S., others defend IP rights as waiver backers push for text-based talks
February 4, 2021 at 4:25 PM 

The U.S., European Union and other mainly developed countries once again defended intellectual property protections at the World Trade Organization this week despite a push from proponents of an IP waiver to move the talks to text-based discussions, according to a Geneva-based trade official familiar with the talks.

The waiver, introduced last year, would waive portions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. Views on the proposal, put forward by India and South Africa, have fallen largely along development lines, with developing countries in favor and developed opposed.

While the U.S. position under President Biden to date is largely unchanged from that under former President Trump, the U.S., at an informal TRIPS Council meeting on Thursday, touted the new administration's steps to more fully engage in global efforts to combat the pandemic. Where the previous administration eschewed multilateral pandemic-related efforts, the new administration has moved the opposite way, rejoining the World Health Organization and pledging resources to vaccine alliances like COVAX and Gavi.

The speed with which several vaccines have been developed is evidence that the private sector is a key part of innovation and IP rights are key to that private sector development, the U.S. argued, according to the Geneva official. The U.S. added that it remains open to working with members to address the pandemic, including discussions on where TRIPS obligations had hindered manufacturing capability or capacity for pandemic-related products.

South Africa urged members to take the discussion from the facts-based stage to text-based one, the official said. The country called on opponents, in particular, to work toward an outcome. Proponents like South Africa argue that developing countries need the flexibility the waiver would provide to successfully combat the pandemic through the manufacture of vaccines and medical supplies.

The U.S. said it remained in favor of continued talks but that they should be fact-based discussions, according to the Geneva official.

The EU echoed the U.S. defense of IP protections, arguing they incentivize innovation, but the bloc also faced scrutiny and pushback on its recent vaccine export authorization mechanism. The existing TRIPS flexibilities are sufficient to address the concerns raised by the proponents, the EU argued, according to the official. 

And, the EU added, WTO members are well within their rights to invoke those flexibilities amid the pandemic.

A number of developing countries claimed the EU export measure was proof that those most opposed to the IP waiver are buying up available production and colluding with pharmaceutical companies, according to the Geneva official. But a lack of transparency from those companies is backfiring for all, including the developed members, these countries argued. “We see now how the chicks have come to roost,” South Africa said, according to the official.

The EU defended its export mechanism, arguing it was a response to a breach of contract. The measure is strictly targeted – applicable only through March – and will not slow down vaccine exports to third countries, the EU insisted.

The EU’s move has drawn condemnation from the many in the trade community, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Although the difference in views on the waiver remains wide and seemingly intractable, members have agreed to continue discussing the issue. They will meet for a formal TRIPS Council meeting on Feb. 25 to decide on a “neutral and factual” report for the General Council, according to the Geneva official. -- Hannah Monicken


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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