[CTC] WTO impasse continues on IP-related decisions ahead of MC13

[Arthur Stamoulis]

WTO impasse continues on IP-related decisions ahead of MC13
Inside US Trade, November 29, 2023 at 4:30 PM
 
Two intellectual property-related issues that are likely to be ministerial conference priorities for some World Trade Organization members early next year remain unresolved as delegations struggle to move beyond well-established positions.
 
During an informal meeting of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on Wednesday, members were unable to come to decisions on whether to renew a moratorium on TRIPS non-violation claims or whether to expand a TRIPS decision from the 12th ministerial on COVID-19 vaccines to cover tests and treatments, according to a Geneva-based trade official familiar with the meeting.
 
The MC12 decision in June 2022 broadened flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement to facilitate the production of COVID-19 vaccines. It also said members should decide within six months whether to expand the decision to include COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. Negotiators were not close to a decision in that time frame and agreed to extend the deadline, though they did not set a new date for a decision.
 
Discussions since then have been largely stagnant as proponents push to adopt the expansion, while several members – notably, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Switzerland – remain skeptical that such a move is necessary.
 
The Biden administration has not said publicly what its position on the issue is. Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate the issue. The ITC released its report in October, outlining the state of production, distribution and availability of COVID-19-related diagnostics and therapeutics but not recommending any particular course of action.
 
During Wednesday’s meeting, the U.S. appeared to be in the skeptical camp, according to the official, who noted that those of this view expressed various levels of flexibility about expanding the MC12 decision. But the U.S., the EU, the UK, Switzerland and Japan all urged delegations to shift talks to broader pandemic preparedness and lessons learned from COVID-19. Because consensus appeared unlikely on expanding the MC12 decision, members should instead look focus on establishing a work program for pandemic preparedness, they said, according to the official.
 
The proponents – largely developing and least-developed countries, including the original sponsors, India and South Africa – argued that the risk of new and highly transmissible COVID-19 variants remains an urgent issue, meaning that expanding the MC12 decision to cover diagnostics and therapeutics remains relevant, according to the official. They pushed for a “yes-or-no decision” at the next General Council meeting in December.
 
The TRIPS Council chair, Thai Ambassador Pimchanok Pitfield, noted no clear path forward at the moment given the divergent views. She urged members to find an “alternate solution” to the impasse if there is to be an outcome at MC13 next February.
 
Similarly, negotiators could not agree on Wednesday on whether to extend the moratorium on bringing TRIPS non-violation cases to the WTO dispute settlement system. A non-violation claim is when a country considers certain measures by another government to have deprived it of expected benefits under a certain WTO agreement even if the measures did not violate specific WTO rules. The moratorium has been in place since the WTO was established in 1995 and has been renewed several times since then, including most recently at MC12.
 
It is set to lapse at MC13 unless renewed again. The U.S. in the past has blocked the moratorium until the last minute, removing its opposition at the same time as India has released its block on a moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions. Last year, the U.S. agreed to extend the TRIPS moratorium months in advance of MC12.
 
On Wednesday, the U.S., the UK and Switzerland rejected the idea of making a decision at the meeting, saying they needed additional time to consult with their capitals, according to the Geneva official.
 
The chair said she would hold additional consultations with members to determine if a decision can be made at the General Council meeting in December. -- Hannah Monicken (hmonicken at iwpnews.com <mailto:hmonicken at iwpnews.com>)
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