[CTC] A Touch of Optimism in IP Talks

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade Europe, 8 October 2021

A TOUCH OF OPTIMISM IN IP TALKS: 
“There’s movement there … on the TRIPS waiver. The discussions today were constructive and certainly would encourage one to believe that compromise is possible,” WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell told reporters during the first day of the General Council on Thursday.

He added that South Africa, one of the key proponents of waiving intellectual property rights for coronavirus-related products like vaccines, expressed that the waiver and Ambassador David Walker’s consultations for a political statement on trade and health was “not a binary choice.”

Political declaration, anyone? Rockwell said “there certainly seems to be a desire to get to some form of an agreement” stemming from Ambassador Walker’s discussions, which would be “a political declaration, not a legal document, that would alter rights and obligations.”

Pulling e-commerce into TRIPS: “Some members” are intent on linking an e-commerce moratorium to the TRIPS waiver discussion, Rockwell said, whereas “others drew no linkage.”
The moratorium on customs duties for digital trade, which is worth an estimated $225 billion a year, has been in place since 1998. It required unanimity at the WTO for renewal. Big tech companies benefit enormously from this moratorium.

Fisheries and agriculture are two other key areas that members are focusing on ahead of the ministerial conference, MC12, that starts next month. On fisheries, there’s been some recent “good progress” on transparency, Rockwell said. According to a Geneva-based trade diplomat, countries — including even the EU — are open to considering India’s proposal for a transparency measure on fuel subsidies.
India’s determination: “The Indians are very, very, very determined” to ensure that public stockholding is agreed as a permanent solution, Rockwell said.

What to expect from MC12? “On ne sait jamais, you just don’t know, and every ministerial conference is different,” Rockwell said, adding on a positive note: “No one is throwing down tools and walking away.”
 
OECD MEMBERS FORGE UNITED FRONT ON WTO REFORM: 
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development this week voiced its traditional support for a free and open trading system, despite concerns that increased nationalism and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic are pushing members toward more isolationist and protectionist measures. 

“We will work to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its center,” the 38-nation group said in a statement. “We look forward to achieving reform of the WTO and a successful 12th WTO Ministerial Conference” on November 30 to December 3 in Geneva. 

Beijing on OECD’s mind: The group of market-oriented democracies also pledged “to oppose economic coercion,” in a veiled reference to some of China’s trading practices, “and to level the global playing field through increased competition, better integration of SMEs to global value chains, and the dismantlement of unnecessary barriers to international trade.” 

US racks up brownie points: OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann praised the United States, which chaired this year’s Ministerial Council Meeting, as helping to “revitalize” the organization’s commitment to multilateralism — something that had been under strain during the Trump administration. “It’s been so good to have the U.S. provide leadership to this Ministerial Council Meeting in the lead-up to this event, but in particular over these last few days,” Cormann said.
 
Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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