[CTC] WTO proponents of expanding TRIPS decision grow impatient with holdouts

[Arthur Stamoulis]

WTO proponents of expanding TRIPS decision grow impatient with holdouts
Inside US Trade, October 7, 2022 at 4:15 PM
World Trade Organization members in favor of expanding a recent decision to broaden intellectual property rules for COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday expressed frustration that the talks are not progressing more quickly as a mid-December deadline approaches – and as several members maintain they still need more time for domestic consultations.
 
During a General Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, 31 members took the floor, with many of those representing groups of countries, WTO spokesperson Daniel Pruzin told reporters on Friday. Trade ministers in June agreed to widen the flexibilities under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to facilitate the production of COVID-19 vaccines, a compromise deal that included a six-month deadline for members to determine whether the scope of the decision should be expanded to include diagnostics and therapeutics.
 
Many WTO members, especially developing countries, support the expansion, arguing that tests and treatments have been out of reach for many low-income countries and citing IP barriers as part of the problem. These countries on Friday expressed concern that despite the looming deadline, there is little progress to report from discussions in the TRIPS Council, Pruzin said.
 
Egypt, one of the proponents, lamented on Friday that members were stuck “in a loop of question and answers,” calling it a “vicious cycle,” according to a Geneva-based trade official familiar with the meeting. South Africa – an original sponsor, along with India, of the broader TRIPS waiver proposal that was whittled into the compromise MC12 decision – proposed a retreat for members on the issue, citing the upcoming retreats scheduled for the fisheries subsidies and agriculture talks, as well as one proposed on WTO reform. The country also urged Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to consider engaging on the TRIPS expansion discussion at the ministerial level before the deadline, according to the official.
 
Several WTO members remain skeptical – or, in some cases, remain mired in their domestic processes and information gathering, according to what they’ve said publicly. The latter is true of two of the largest WTO members: The U.S. and the European Union. Both said as much during the General Council meeting, according to the Geneva official.
 
“We are continuing to conduct our domestic consultations on whether to extend the TRIPS Decision to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics,” the U.S. said, according to a copy of its remarks. “As we continue our consultations, we look forward to continuing to engage with WTO Members on this issue.”
 
The U.S. also noted it was gathering information on COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics beyond intellectual property aspects. This echoes a call from several skeptical WTO members for the discussions to be “evidence-based” and to address “factors on the ground” that are getting in the way of distribution of these products, according to the Geneva official. Several countries, which the official characterized as “skeptical,” reiterated this information-gathering call; they included Switzerland, Singapore, Japan and others.
 
“As part of our consultations, we are in the process of gathering information on the use of diagnostics and therapeutics to treat COVID-19,” the U.S. said. “We are also gathering information on other related issues, such as supply, production, demand, and distribution as they relate to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.”
 
The Biden administration supported a TRIPS waiver for vaccines, notably not mentioning diagnostics and therapeutics in its statements of support. It has not said publicly which way it will decide, although its noncommittal statements so far align more closely with the skeptical camp.
 
The administration continues to face significant lobbying from both sides, with Republican lawmakers vocally critical of the TRIPS decision at MC12 while civil society groups press the administration to approve the expansion of the decision’s scope.
 
The expansion must be approved by consensus at the WTO by Dec. 17, although members could decide – likely at a General Council meeting – to give themselves more time. -- Hannah Monicken (hmonicken at iwpnews.com <mailto:hmonicken at iwpnews.com>)


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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