The proposed relaxations in the norms of the TRIPS agreement are aimed at ensuring quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries
Darlene Grant receives the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Washington, DC on Thursday. Hosted by the District of Columbia Health Department, the event provided newly vaccinated people with a free beer. Pic/AFP
WTO Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged the proponents of the proposal for temporary waiver of certain provisions of TRIPS agreement for prevention and treatment of Covid-19 to submit the revised document “as soon as possible” so that text-based negotiations can begin.
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Welcoming the statement of US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the issue, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said she “warmly” welcomes Tai’s willingness to engage with proponents of a temporary waiver of the TRIPS agreement to help in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all World Trade Organization (WTO) members on the implementation of certain provisions of the agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of Covid-19. The proposed relaxations in the norms of the agreement are aimed at ensuring quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries.
“I am pleased that the proponents are preparing a revision to their proposal and I urge them to put this on the table as soon as possible so that text-based negotiations can commence,” Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement. “It is only by sitting down together that the member countries of the WTO will find a pragmatic way forward which would be acceptable to all members and which would enhance developing countries’ access to vaccines while protecting and sustaining the research and innovation so vital to the production of these life-saving vaccines.”
“As I told the General Council yesterday, we need to respond urgently to Covid-19 because the world is watching and people are dying,” she said. The statement, dated May 6, is posted on the WTO website.
The proposal of India and South Africa has received support from more than 120 countries.
In a significant shift of stance, the Gates Foundation has followed the line taken by the Biden administration to back the temporary waiver. “No barriers should stand in the way of equitable access to vaccines, including intellectual property, which is why we are supportive of a narrow waiver during the pandemic. Those negotiations will occur via the WTO process, led by country negotiators,” said Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman.
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Australia to lift ban
Australia will lift a ban on its citizens returning from Covid-hit India from next Saturday and the first repatriation flight will land in Darwin the same day, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
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