WTO waiver decision postponed
Members agreed to a partial waiver of patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines | Latest delay follows a similar decision by the US | WTO accused of “failure”.
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have agreed to delay a decision on whether to waive patent protection for the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.
In an announcement shared on Friday, December 16, the WTO said its members have agreed to recommend that the general council extends the deadline to decide on whether the partial waiver of patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines should be extended to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.
In June, WTO members agreed to a partial waiver of patent protection for COVID-19 vaccines. Within the waiver was a commitment that no later than six months from the date of the decision (June 17), WTO members would decide on its possible extension to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.
Since then, said the WTO, members have “not been able to reach consensus on the substance of the matter despite numerous meetings held in recent months in various configurations”.
Ambassador Lansana Gberie of Sierra Leon, chair of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), will submit a report to the general council.
Ahead of the decision to delay, the People’s Vaccine Alliance (a coalition of more than 100 organisations including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and UNAIDS) called on the WTO’s director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to use her influence to ensure that a decision is reached ahead of the deadline.
In a letter to Okonjo-Iweala, the coalition claimed that the WTO “failed the world” in June with the agreement of a partial waiver for vaccines.
“Put simply, after failing the world in June of this year, the WTO is getting a second chance to make a meaningful impact in the fight against COVID-19 before the end of 2022,” said the letter.
It added: "Developing countries and civil society across the world are looking to you to show leadership and to show that you have their best interests in the forefront of your mind. We urge you to publicly resist the deliberate attempts from rich nations to delay negotiations beyond 2022. Any delay would be a damaging blow to the WTO’s credibility.”
Earlier this month, LSIPR reported that the US had announced its support to delay the decision. The Office of the US Trade Representative said that it supported the deadline and would ask the US International Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the products.
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