[CTC] WTO still deadlocked on TRIPS waiver as U.S. faces domestic pressure

[Arthur Stamoulis]

WTO still deadlocked on TRIPS waiver as U.S. faces domestic pressure
Inside US Trade, 2/23/21
 
While World Trade Organization members remain deadlocked over the question of whether to waive some intellectual property obligations in response to the pandemic, they largely share a common sense that countries must explore how intellectual property flexibilities can be part of a pandemic response framework, according to a Geneva-based trade official familiar with the discussions.
 
Even as WTO members remain at an impasse, progressive organizations – and lawmakers – are pushing the Biden administration to reconsider the U.S. opposition to the waiver. The U.S., along with other members like the European Union, Canada, Japan and others, argue IP protections were integral to how quickly COVID-19 vaccines were developed by pharmaceutical companies. The proponents, meanwhile, insist the waiver is needed to ensure developing countries can get access to those vaccines.
 
At Tuesday’s meeting of the WTO Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, members mainly reiterated their positions and agreed on the language the chair will use to update the General Council next week, the Geneva official said. Specifically, the chair will tell the General Council that members have not been able to reach consensus on the waiver but will continue their discussions.
 
The proposal, which would waive certain parts of the TRIPS Agreement, was put forward by India and South Africa in October. Since then, the number of sponsors has grown to 57, including the African Group and Least-Developed Countries Group. According to the official, a number of other developing members have spoken in favor of the waiver in remarks at the council, including Caribbean and Latin American countries.
 
But while the waiver, so far, is going nowhere fast, members are also discussing how the existing flexibilities can be used to address any potential IP barriers, with the chair noting a number of “shared understandings” on such flexibilities, according to the Geneva official.
 
This was underscored by South African Counsellor to the WTO Mustaqeem De Gama last week during a webinar hosted by Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, a progressive trade advocacy organization. He said that while members continued to disagree over the waiver, there was widespread agreement among countries that they need better systems for responding to pandemics.
 
The U.S. on Tuesday said its goal is to find multilateral solutions to address the public health and humanitarian crisis while not forgoing the need to incentivize innovation, according to the official. The country added that it looked forward to additional discussions, as well as identifying practical ways to improve capacity.
 
Domestic pressure
 
During last week’s webinar, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) urged the Biden administration to remove its opposition to the waiver, arguing that “siding with the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies” is “an immoral decision, a deadly decision and I believe it is one we can successfully combat.”
 
“It’s actually quite embarrassing, but not surprising, that – at least in the past before this new administration – that the United States would back up the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies that want to continue to profit from this pandemic,” she said. “And our goal right now is to get the now Biden administration to change the policy of the United States, who has rounded up some other countries – rich countries – to join us. So, I am very, very optimistic that we are going to be able to do that.”
 
Schakowsky led the House Democrats’ working group on access to medicines that won changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement during the Trump administration. The group successfully spiked a 10-year exclusivity clause for drug companies.
 
The congresswoman also questioned drug makers on the waiver during a Tuesday House Energy & Commerce Committee hearing on vaccine availability. The pharmaceutical company representatives who testified opposed the waiver but argued they were scaling up global supply chains and sub-licensing with other global partners.
 
Schakowsky, deputy whip for the House Democrats, said during the webinar that she and other lawmakers would be sending a letter to Biden to urge him to rethink the U.S. position on the waiver. A spokesman for the congresswoman told Inside U.S. Trade on Tuesday the letter would be sent “shortly,” though he did not give a timeline.
 
According to Schakowsky, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was supportive of the waiver at a Democratic Caucus meeting last week. “I am very pleased to tell you that Speaker Nancy Pelosi chimed in at the very close of this meeting to say how important it was that we allow this waiver to go through, that the United States not stand in the way [and] emphasizing that this is a global pandemic,” Schakowsky said.
 
But a Biden turnabout on the waiver would reverse a longtime – and bipartisan – position on intellectual property and set “a terrible precedent,” an experienced trade lawyer told Inside U.S. Trade. The lawyer argued that the proponents have presented “no credible evidence” that IP obligations were proving barriers to access. In fact, the lawyer said, the barriers so far are largely logistical.
 
There’s also no clear benefit to the waiver, the lawyer added, but it could have a symbolic, chilling effect on pharmaceutical investment and innovation. Companies don’t develop drugs or vaccines out of the goodness of their hearts, the lawyer said; they have to be motivated. “[The waiver] wouldn’t really have any actual impact on the pandemic,” the lawyer argued. “However, it would make it much easier for countries around the world to issue compulsory licensing whenever they think they should and for the TRIPS Council to do this again.”
 
The waiver is supported by a number of civil society groups, including some based in the U.S., like Public Citizen, and international organizations like Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. -- Hannah Monicken
 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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