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TWN Info Service
on Intellectual Property Issues (Dec21/02) Developing countries
call for concluding work on TRIPS waiver Geneva, 3 Dec (D. Ravi Kanth) - Many developing and least-developed countries have raised the stakes on the temporary TRIPS waiver and on public stockholding programs for food security, suggesting that other issues, including fisheries subsidies, could be calibrated due to the postponement of the WTO's 12th ministerial conference (MC12), said people familiar with the discussions. At an informal Heads of Delegation (HoD) meeting on 2 December, the developing countries, led by South Africa and India, flagged their specific demands centering on the unresolved issue of the TRIPS waiver in the WTO's response to the pandemic as well as on the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security (PSH). With the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is capable of slowing down global economic activity, South Africa, India, and several other developing countries spoke about the heightened urgency on agreeing on the TRIPS waiver, said people familiar with the discussions. Members offered their differing assessments on a letter written by four trade ministers from Kazakhstan, Australia, Uganda, and Barbados, who are also the chairs and vice-chairs of MC12, seeking the reconvening of the postponed conference in the first week of March, said people, preferring not to be quoted. The chair of the WTO's General Council (GC), Ambassador Dacio Castillo from Honduras, as well as the WTO director-general Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed disappointment over the postponement of MC12. The DG, however, clarified that the letter written by the four trade ministers from Kazakhstan, Australia, Uganda, and Barbados on Sunday was under their own responsibility and that the WTO Secretariat merely emailed the letter. Ms Okonjo-Iweala apparently dispelled the doubts that the letter was actually written by the DG's office, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Barring the four signatories to the letter that was sent to ministers on re-convening the ministerial meeting in the first week of March, many members seem to have ruled out the prospects for re-convening MC12 anytime soon, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Mr Okonjo-Iweala urged members to finalize a clear blueprint by the end of February, asking them to get ready for an intensive round of meetings from the second half of January. Though the DG emphasized on concluding work on fisheries subsidies as well as on the WTO's response to the pandemic with an IPR component, the co-sponsors of the TRIPS waiver proposal pressed for an early outcome in unambiguous terms, said people who asked not to be quoted. CONCLUDING WORK ON TRIPS WAIVER At the HoD meeting, South Africa suggested that work on the TRIPS waiver should be hastened to arrive at a solution before the X-mas break, said a person, who asked not to be quoted. The temporary TRIPS waiver seeks to suspend the implementation of certain provisions in the TRIPS Agreement relating to copyrights, industrial designs, patents, and protection of undisclosed information for scaling-up the production of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines across countries in combating the Covid-19 pandemic, with the new Omicron variant comprising of 50 mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The DG also suggested the need for clean texts on fisheries subsidies by the end of February, despite governments being preoccupied with the worsening health crisis at this juncture. In the face of growing "vaccine inequity" and "vaccine apartheid", the Covid-19 pandemic has assumed heightened urgency given the lack of access to vaccines for close to seven billion people in the developing and least-developed countries, said a capital-based official, who asked not to be quoted. RE-CONVENING MC12 South Africa said that the time is not ripe for re-convening MC12, emphasizing that the TRIPS waiver must be addressed on an emergency basis, a concern that was shared by Jamaica, on behalf of the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) group, Chad, on behalf of the LDC group, and India among others. India brought the issue of PSH along with the TRIPS waiver to the center-stage at the meeting, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Indonesia, which coordinates the G-33 group of developing countries, called for intensifying work on all unresolved issues in the agriculture dossier, particularly PSH, said people, preferring not to be quoted. Regardless of the postponement of MC12, the EU said it will reach out to capitals to sort out the unresolved issues on the table, said people, who asked not to be quoted. The EU has been putting pressure on several governments to agree to an agreement on fisheries subsidies and on WTO reform, said people, who asked not to be quoted. MC12 OUTCOME DOCUMENT At the HoD meeting, the GC chair said that he would continue his consultations with members on the bracketed outcome document. Several major issues such as the legal status of the informal plurilateral JSIs involving digital trade, investment facilitation, disciplines for MSMEs, domestic regulation in services (which was concluded on 2 December) and trade and women's economic empowerment, as well as on WTO reforms that seek to eliminate the principle of consensus-based decision making and for differentiation among developing countries for availing of special and differential treatment (S&DT) remain in square brackets and they are proving difficult for any resolution at this juncture, said several people, who asked not to be quoted. The GC chair spoke about further negotiations on the controversial report prepared by the outgoing facilitator on the WTO's response to the pandemic, Ambassador David Walker from New Zealand. In the face of unconfirmed reports on elevating the current chair of the WTO's TRIPS Council, Ambassador Dagfinn Sorli from Norway, as the new facilitator, several countries seem opposed to the move because of his alleged controversial role in taking the negotiations in the direction of undermining the waiver discussions, said a person, who asked not to be quoted. At the HoD meeting, apparently, a South American country proposed Ambassador Sorli's name for the role of facilitator to oversee the discussions on the WTO's response to the pandemic. However, the issue was not discussed in detail at the meeting. But, even if there is any move to appoint Ambassador Sorli, "we will oppose it,' said a person, who asked not to be quoted. Several members may prefer the WTO General Council chair, Ambassador Dacio Castillo from Honduras, to lead the negotiations on the WTO's response to the pandemic, said people, who asked not to be quoted. Ambassador Castillo from Honduras played an important balancing role in the discussions on the outcome document and he is best suited for overseeing the unfinished work on the WTO's response to the pandemic, including the TRIPS waiver, said people, who asked not to be quoted. REPORTS BY THE CHAIRS At the HoD meeting, the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Gloria Abraham Peralta from Costa Rica, provided a rather grim assessment as to where the issues stand at this juncture, including on the mandated outcome on the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security for developing countries. Apparently, the director-general held a meeting with select countries including the US, the EU, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Canada to discuss the difficult issues in the agriculture dossier, particularly the mandated permanent solution on public stockholding programs for food security, said people, who asked not to be quoted. The chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, provided an upbeat assessment projecting that a final agreement is almost on the cards for ministers to decide on a few issues, said people, who asked not to be quoted. The chair of the Doha services negotiations, who is from Kazakhstan, suggested that there is still no consensus yet on the ministerial decision on services, while the chair of the Doha special negotiating body on trade and development spoke about the G90 proposal concerning the improvements in ten Agreement-specific proposals. The TRIPS Council chair Ambassador Sorli from Norway said he is ready to intensify discussions on the TRIPS waiver as well as on the EU proposal, suggesting that there is more work that needs to be done in the coming days.
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