High Level Dialogue: TRIPS Waiver – Challenges & Opportunities

13 September at 3.15pm -4.30pm CEST (Swiss time)

REGISTER AT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jplD3DX5SSyQXwT7ZPPHJw

With 4.6 million deaths officially reported, evidence suggests that the death toll is more than double with the pandemic increasingly concentrated in developing countries and growing. Vaccine access is hugely uneven and inequitable, while therapeutics are in short supply and priced out of reach. Despite global calls for open sharing of knowledge and technology, production of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics etc. continues to be built on monopolies contributing to inequitable access to those critical medical commodities.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is considering a proposal for a temporary waiver from certain TRIPS obligations (TRIPS waiver) to remove existing and potential legal barriers to create the freedom to operate and collaborate to scale-up manufacturing and diversify supply. This proposal led by India and South Africa and co-sponsored by 64 WTO Members has received widespread global support. However it faces resistance especially from some high income economies that have sought to delay and distract from the proposal. In particular, the European Commission, the official representative of the European Union in the WTO is opposed to the TRIPS waiver. Instead it has argued in favour of status quo through its WTO communication (IP/C/W/681) although a European Parliament resolution supports constructive text-based engagement “for a temporary waiver of the WTO TRIPS Agreement”. In May, the US expressed support for an intellectual property waiver for vaccines but has since been less forthcoming.

The Dialogue will discuss the challenges and opportunities with respect to the TRIPS Waiver.

Moderator: Leena Menghaney, Global IP Advisor, MSF Access Campaign

Panellists:

-Anna Cavazzini, Group of the Greens/ European Free Alliance, MEP Germany

-Ro Khanna Congressman U.S. House of Representatives

-Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate Economist, Professor Columbia University

-Graham Dutfield, Professor of International Governance, School of Law, University of Leeds

-Siva Thambisetty Associate Professor of Law London School of Economics and Political Science