WTO to begin talks on India’s TRIPS waiver proposal from June 30

The talks are a part of the efforts by the world community to accelerate the fight against COVID-19 by ensuring equal distribution of COVID-19 items like vaccines, medicines and other medical equipment.

The talks on granting a waiver from some provisions of the TRIPS agreement, as proposed by India and South Africa for COVID-related items will begin from June 30 at the World Trade Organization(WTO). The initial talks will focus mainly on the scope of items related to the pandemic for which waiver can be granted. On Thursday, the TRIPS Council decided that other issues related to the waiver, such as its time period and method of implementation would be discussed by the trade body at a later stage.

The talks are a part of the efforts by the world community to accelerate the fight against COVID-19 by ensuring equal distribution of COVID-19 items like vaccines, medicines and other medical equipment. Last year, India and South Africa had submitted a joint proposal to the WTO, asking for a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for items related to prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19. TRIPS is a global agreement on the protection of intellectual rights, in effect from 1995.

In the previous month, the two countries presented a revised proposal, asking for a patent waiver on COVID-19 items for a period of 3 years including an option to review the duration each year. However, the proposal is being opposed by some countries including the European Union who want to address the issue through existing mechanisms like compulsory licensing.

At an informal meeting of the TRIPS Council on Thursday, the US expressed its desire to focus on common objectives first instead of talking about the scope of the waiver. It also called some proposals ‘expensive’. The US had on May 6 given its support to the waiver and said that it would “actively participate in WTO negotiations to make that happen.

The Council decided that an open-ended session of the WTO will take place on June 30 followed by discussions on 6, 14 and 20 July. Smaller group meetings would be held in between these discussions. The negotiations on the TRIPS agreement waiver would be reviewed by review by the General Council of WTO on July 27 and 28.

 

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