TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May21/16)
19 May 2021
Third World Network

Co-sponsors of TRIPS waiver proposal call for solidarity at WTO
An earlier version of this article was published in SUNS #9347 dated 18 May 2021

Washington DC, 17 May (D. Ravi Kanth) – After standing her ground at the US Congress last week on the need to negotiate on the proposed TRIPS waiver for combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai has welcomed the tabling by South Africa and India of ther revised draft text in order to launch text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization.

During her meetings at the US Congress, and simultaneously virtual discussions with the trade ministers of South Africa, India, and the European Union, as well as with the World Health Organization Director-General, Ambassador Tai sent a strong message that the Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to negotiate on the TRIPS waiver at the WTO.

The proposed temporary waiver seeks to suspend certain provisions in the TRIPS Agreement relating to copyrights, industrial designs, patents, and protection of undisclosed information (trade secrets) for ramping up global production of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines across countries to contain, prevent, and treat COVID-19.

CO-SPONSORS CALL FOR SOLIDARITY & SWIFT NEGOTIATIONS ON REVISED PROPOSAL

On 17 May, in what appears to be a response to the call from the USTR for revised proposals from the co-sponsors of the waiver proposal, the 62 co-sponsors welcomed the USTR statement, saying that they are “supportive and willing to actively participate in text-based discussions.”

The co-sponsors said that “it is encouraging that various other delegations who had been opposing text-based discussions have undertaken to do the same.”

“This is a significant step forward in our collective responsibility to address the scourge of COVID-19 and to ensure that we end the pandemic everywhere for everyone,” the co-sponsors argued.

They emphasized that “universal access to immunisation, treatments, testing and other products to control the pandemic should be our priority.”

The co-sponsors said emphatically that “no one should be left behind,” urging “all delegations who have not yet indicated that they will join text-based discussions, to do so as soon as possible.”

The co-sponsors said that they will soon “issue an amended version of their waiver proposal with the objective of moving text-based discussions forward.”

Further, “the amended waiver proposal seeks to further clarify the scope of the proposed waiver while also addressing the period during which it will apply.”

The co-sponsors called for concluding “this phase of discussions” as soon as possible given the very serious situation that countries face with COVID-19.

In the face of continuous mutations and emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the co-sponsors cautioned members about “the significant uncertainties and complexities of controlling SARS-CoV-2”, and underscored the urgency of this proposal.

“A failure to respond in a timely manner on the waiver proposal undermines the legitimacy and credibility of the WTO,” the co-sponsors warned.

They assured members that “they will engage in this process with the necessary flexibility to ensure swift outcomes,” arguing that “any outcome in these negotiations must respect the wishes and common interests of the majority of Members of the WTO.”

Therefore, the co-sponsors called on “all WTO Members to come together in meaningful global solidarity, to prioritise and expedite text-based negotiations, to reach an early conclusion that will effectively address intellectual property barriers and contribute to the scaling up and diversification of manufacturing and supply of COVID-19 products for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19.”

The joint statement said “as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on globally, there have been 162,177,376 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,364,178 deaths, reported to WHO (World Health Organization).”

As of 12 May 2021, said the co-sponsors, “a total of 1,264,164,553 vaccine doses have been administered.”

Such poor and inequitable availability of vaccines, according to the co-sponsors, hollowed out “the promise of international solidarity and of “global public goods”,” due “to staggering inequity in access [that] persists and as Members of World Trade Organization continue to fail to work in solidarity and take action to remove intellectual property barriers.”

The co-sponsors argued that in order “to meet the global supply demands for timely and affordable access, we need to mobilise global manufacturing capacity and to diversify supply options”.

That requires addressing “intellectual property challenges as a prerequisite if we are to meet this objective in the shortest possible time-frame.”

The co-sponsors said their “proposal for a temporary waiver from certain TRIPS obligations for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 and many other WTO Members are supportive of the proposal.”

More importantly, the waiver initiative “has also received worldwide support from international organizations, civil society organizations, global leaders including former presidents, prime ministers, Nobel laureates, parliamentarians across the globe including from those Members who have not yet agreed on textual discussions, healthcare workers including global nurses unions, Union for flight attendants, IndustriAll global union, Public Services International – global union federation of workers in public services, and the general public.”

In the face of intense criticism from the members of the Republican Party on the Biden Administration’s stand to waive intellectual property provisions for rapid manufacturing of vaccines across countries and participate in the text-based negotiations, Ambassador Tai tenaciously argued that “these extraordinary times demand extraordinary leadership and creativity to find solutions that can defeat COVID-19.”

Faced with sustained criticisms from the Republican Party members at the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, Ambassador Tai said “the announcement last week that the United States will not let intellectual property rights get in the way of saving lives is just one part of the Administration’s global effort.”

In response to the concern expressed by a Republican Party member that the vaccine manufacturing process, particularly the m-RNA vaccines, is complex and that developing countries are ill-equipped to manufacture them, Ambassador Tai said “I have also heard the concerns of industry and directly from the manufacturers themselves, and I take them very seriously.”

“I think that because a possible waiver of intellectual property protections at the WTO could lead to negative consequences or unintended consequences, is actually a reason for us to engage at the WTO,” she said.

She said that “the dynamic that had developed in Geneva, prior to last week, with us leaning in to say let’s all roll up our sleeves and talk about this and figure out a solution, was that you had WTO members like ourselves sitting on the sidelines, saying, well, we’re not quite sure that, you know we need to know more about the waiver, are there unintended consequences, and then factors leading to complete paralysis.”

“I don’t think that’s tenable and I don’t think that’s the role that the United States should play in the world,” she asserted, emphasizing that the US must “be part of the solution, always.”

Further, she urged the “industry, the manufacturers, don’t be so nervous and afraid about what this means.”

“This is actually an opportunity for them to lean in and build on the incredible work that they’ve done in research and development and developing these vaccines, to really also become part of the solution,” she argued.

She said that Big Pharma could do a lot voluntarily to “obviate what we would need to do at the WTO, but because we are not there, we have significant portions of the global economy telling us that they are in trouble, that they need access, and that they need to do something through the rules, because otherwise they’re not getting any progress and their hopes and dreams and their recovery are really held back because of it.”

“So that’s what I’d like to convey is that, we’re going to have a process, we will talk through these issues, and that is what I really am going to lean into having the WTO produce.”

Ambassador Tai said confidently that the Administration “will pursue text-based negotiations at the WTO, which may take time.”

“But I am encouraged that other countries have already announced that they will roll up their sleeves and join us,” she emphasized.

The USTR said the US “will also continue to ramp up – working with the private sector and all possible partners – to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world, including access to the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines.”

“This comprehensive effort will not only save lives, but also help heal the (global) economy,” she argued.

At the US Senate Finance Committee meeting, members from the Republican Party and one Democrat expressed their opposition at the Administration’s decision, maintaining that the waiver of certain provisions of the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement will not increase vaccine manufacturing in developing countries, according to the proceedings that were relayed by C-SPAN.

The Republican members’ constant refrain at the meeting was that by agreeing to the waiver, the Biden-Harris administration chose the path of handing over the US intellectual property to China and Russia (see SUNS #9334 dated 27 April 2021).

[However, it is noteworthy that this argument is frivolous as BioNTech already has an agreement with China’s Fosun Pharma for the production and distribution of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which is soon to be approved in China. In addition, Sinovac and Sinopharm from China and the RIDF from Russia have globally licensed their vaccines for production and supply. And notably China and Russia have indicated that they are willing to waive their intellectual property protection in the interest of global collaboration.]

One Republican Senator pointedly told the USTR that the Biden-Harris Administration does not have the authority to support the waiver and complained that the US Congress was not consulted.

In a sharp reply, Ambassador Tai said she has the authority to negotiate at the WTO and the US decision paves the way for negotiations to begin.

“Our support is for the beginning of a process,” the USTR said, adding that a waiver will not happen unless it wins the support of 164 WTO members.

She assured members that a final waiver agreement must balance pharmaceutical companies’ rights to intellectual property and incentives for continued innovation with equitable distribution of vaccines around the globe.

The USTR suggested that the Administration’s message to pharmaceutical companies is that they can be heroes, as the vaccine equity is about saving lives as well as bringing the global economy back online.

During the meeting with Members of the US House Ways and Means Committee on 13 May, the Republican Party members launched a barrage of criticisms on the Administration’s decision to support the waiver.

VIRTUAL MEETINGS WITH SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA, EU & WHO

In addition to her meetings at the US Senate and US Congress, Ambassador Tai separately spoke to her counterparts from South Africa, India, and the EU.

She also spoke to the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 14 May.

During her virtual meeting with South Africa’s trade, industry, and competition minister Mr Ebrahim Patel on 13 May, the USTR focused on “increasing vaccine production, and the proposed waiver to certain provisions of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the COVID-19 pandemic.”

She emphasized “the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to saving lives and ending the pandemic here in the United States and around the world.”

The USTR reiterated “her support for the waiver of intellectual property for COVID-19 vaccines and text-based negotiations at the WTO.”

According to a press statement by the Office of the US Trade Representative, Ambassador Tai “acknowledged the WTO Members who have expressed support for future negotiations and welcomed an update from Minister Patel about efforts to revise and re-submit South Africa’s waiver proposal.”

The waiver proposal was submitted by India and South Africa on 2 October 2020 and later it was co-sponsored by 60 members.

It seeks to temporarily suspend certain provisions in the TRIPS Agreement relating to copyrights, industrial designs, patents, and protection of undisclosed information (trade secrets) for the treatment, containment, and prevention of COVID-19 that has claimed between 6-12 million lives according to various estimates.

The USTR and Minister Patel agreed to stay in regular communication in the days ahead.

MEETING WITH INDIA

On 14 May, the USTR held a virtual meeting with Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal to discuss increasing vaccine production, and the proposed waiver to certain provisions of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

She explained “her support for the waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and text-based negotiations at the WTO, which are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive effort to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world.”

According to the USTR’s statement, Ambassador Tai “recognized the WTO Members who have expressed support for future negotiations and welcomed an update from Minister Goyal about India’s efforts to revise and re-submit their waiver proposal.”

During her meeting with the EU’s trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on 14 May, Ambassador Tai also discussed the need to increase vaccine production, and the proposed waiver of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.

Ambassador Tai highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s support for the waiver of intellectual property for COVID-19 vaccines and her commitment to text-based negotiations at the WTO.

According to the USTR’s statement, the USTR “also explained how this effort supports the Administration’s comprehensive effort to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world.”

During her meeting with the WHO DG Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 14 May, the USTR discussed the TRIPS waiver, emphasizing “the Biden-Harris Administration’s support for the waiver of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.”

She also explained “how this effort fits into the Administration’s comprehensive effort to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world.”

The USTR asked the WHO DG about his views “on the immediate steps to collectively increase access to vaccines.”

The USTR sought to know “how the WHO declares the existence, and the end, of a pandemic, and steps the WHO is taking to increase pandemic preparedness.”+