Alarm over market access approaches to tackle Covid-19

WTO. Ceatice Commons

Geneva, 28 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) – Several developing countries have cautioned the facilitator tasked to lead WTO members in finding a multilateral and horizontal response to the COVID-19 pandemic not to bring in market access issues by including proposals tabled by Singapore and Jamaica, as well as from the Ottawa Group of countries led by Canada, said people familiar with the development.

At the General Council (GC) meeting on 27 July, the GC-appointed facilitator, Ambassador David Walker from New Zealand, presented an initial report on his recent consultations held with members.

He mentioned the proposal prepared by Singapore and Jamaica (RD/Job/14), as well as on trade and health issues (WT/GC/W/823) as presented by Canada, the coordinator of the Ottawa Group of countries.

Ambassador Walker said these documents contain a wealth of information, adding that so far some 25 documents have been submitted to the GC.

The facilitator said that he will hold thematic discussions on export restrictions, trade facilitation, and reforms involving transparency and notifications, suggesting that these issues would be useful to kick-off work when members return after the summer break.

Ambassador Walker said that he would discuss operationalizing cooperative and collaboration agreements, the Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s recent meetings with Big Pharma and the role of the private sector in ensuring access to medicines to tackle the pandemic.

INDIA CAUTIONS AGAINST MARKET ACCESS APPROACHES

Responding to the facilitator’s report, India’s trade envoy Ambassador Brajendra Navnit apparently expressed concern over bringing in market access issues as part of the WTO’s response to the pandemic, said people familiar with the discussions.

Ambassador Navnit appears to have said that there are too many proposed “deliverables”, emphasizing the need to exclude the market access agenda, said people familiar with the development.

Such a market access agenda and approaches will deny policy space for developing countries, he is understood to have said.

Moreover, the proposed measures impose onerous and cumbersome obligations that could only serve a few countries in the name of the pandemic, India apparently said.

Further, issues like export restrictions, temporary elimination of tariffs that becomes a permanent measure, or stringent transparency and notification requirements will not address the problem of access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, or access to food.

More alarmingly, the facilitator’s approach could lead to flight of these finished critical products to the highest bidder and thereby, making them inaccessible to the resource-poor people all over the world, India is understood to have said.

The Indian envoy cautioned that the WTO’s response to the pandemic has to include the TRIPS waiver at the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12), said people familiar with the development.

He urged the facilitator to include the high volume of work done on the waiver and food security due to the growing problem of hunger.

He suggested that a simple, efficient and permanent solution for extending public stockholding (PSH) programs for food security to new programs and new products must remain a major deliverable at MC12.

Several countries from Africa and Asia seem to have supported the concerns expressed by India at the meeting, including an urgent resolution on the temporary TRIPS waiver.

MAJORITY OF MEMBERS CALL FOR TRIPS WAIVER

During the discussion on the temporary TRIPS waiver, around 30 out of 39 countries that spoke called for an urgent resolution of the TRIPS waiver, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The chair of the TRIPS Council, Ambassador Dagfinn Sorli from Norway, presented his report to the General Council, suggesting that the discussions will be continued in September.

The report suggested that there are differences over the issues of duration, scope, and other elements in the revised draft waiver submitted by the co-sponsors of the proposal.

The South African trade envoy Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter made a strong statement on the need for the waiver and why the issue of IP has to be a main component of any decision on the WTO’s response to the pandemic, said people familiar with the development.

She dealt with several issues including the worsening COVID-19 situation in Africa and the need to ramp up production of vaccines.

Ambassador Xolelwa said that all proposals and initiatives that are aimed at addressing barriers to production should not be seen as a substitute to the waiver, but should contribute from different perspectives, and should be welcomed with a view to finding landing zones, said people familiar with the discussions.

The coordinator of the African Group, Ambassador Ms Usha D Canbady from Mauritius, highlighted the excruciating effects of the pandemic, with only 2 per cent of the African population being vaccinated as compared to forty-five percent in developed countries.

She highlighted the grim statistics of huge and widening disparities in access to vaccines, wherein 75% of vaccines have been distributed to only 10 countries in the world.

Ambassador Canbady expressed concern that nine months “have now elapsed since the proposal was initially submitted, indeed in the African Group, as instructed at the highest level of the African Union. We will, in a few months’ time, have to report to them on where we stand.”

Notwithstanding the text-based negotiations, she said that “while we deal extensively on “scope”, “duration”, “implementation” and on protection of information, we must understand that the negotiation by itself is not an achievement but rather the outcome of the negotiation will be.”

Therefore, she said, the African Group calls “for the expediting and prioritization of solutions-oriented text-based negotiations,” and calls “on the TRIPS Council to urgently conclude these so as to facilitate the diversification of production across different locations and increase production and supply of life-saving vaccines and related products. It is in global public interest to do so.”

“Access to products and technology in the manufacturing of vaccines remain critical and the WTO membership must expeditiously come together to achieve the desired outcome in favour of the TRIPS waiver,” she said.

Ambassador Canbady argued that “the WTO and the WTO membership need to have a response to the COVID-19 and the IP Waiver must be a central part of the response.”

She called for “policy coherence and action coherence globally, involving the WTO, WHO and other international organizations to find real solutions to the global pandemic affecting seriously developing countries, including African countries which do not have access to vaccines and therapeutics.”

“This is a real issue for Africa and the emotion we heard this morning in the intervention of the South African Ambassador shows the strain that the Continent is under,” she said.

The Mauritian trade envoy said that “South Africa is unfortunately facing a third wave and many countries are operating in conditions of duress.”

Given the slow trickling in (of vaccine doses) and the IP waiver not decided yet, she said that leaders of “the AU (African Union) want to better understand the difficulties faced by the Ambassadors.”

Ambassador Canbady said the “webinar organized by WHO and WTO last week brought to the fore the difficulties of the Continent and we saw in the discussions a re-affirmation as to why the waiver is necessary.”

PRAISE FOR INDONESIA’S TRADE ENVOY

Indonesia’s outgoing trade envoy Ambassador Syamsul Bahri Siregar was praised by several countries at the meeting for his effective coordination and the significant contribution of the G33 coalition.

In his statement on the TRIPS waiver, Ambassador Siregar welcomed the chair’s report. However, regrettably, though the discussions were supposed to be in the context of a text-based process, constant repeated questions had slowed down such a text-based process, he said.

Ambassador Siregar reiterated that “for us the TRIPS Waiver proposal is a WTO top priority at this moment.”

The Indonesian envoy said that “we consider this proposal as a main element of the holistic WTO response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He expressed confidence that “we immediately pursue and conclude the TRIPS Waiver to address such IP obstacles and to scale up the production of all COVID-19 related health products and technologies to save people from the worsening pandemic.”

Moreover, “IP rights are not absolute, they are subject to public interest, and such public interest EXISTS NOW.”

“The TRIPS Waiver should be our way, the Members’ way, to uphold public interest and the livelihood of so many” countries, he said.

Chad on behalf of the least-developed countries, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and many other developing and least-developed countries supported the call for expediting work on the waiver.

India lamented that due to the positions adopted by certain members, we could not reach the landing zone before the summer break.

Without naming the European Union, India is understood to have said that a handful of countries continue to oppose the waiver on grounds that the IPR system has contributed to innovation and rapid development of vaccines.

EU’S OPPOSITION TO THE WAIVER

The EU touted the use of voluntary licenses and the contributions it has made for supporting new technology hubs in Africa, particularly in South Africa, Senegal, and Rwanda.

The EU spoke about BioNTech and Pfizer’s agreement with the South African company BioVac, saying that there are about 300 companies that have entered into voluntary licensing agreements.

The EU appeared to issue a subtle threat to the co-sponsors of the TRIPS waiver proposal, saying that where the voluntary licensing agreements are signed with Big Pharma, a temporary waiver of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement could undermine these agreements, said people familiar with the discussions.

The EU claimed that its proposal relating to the use of compulsory licensing is the best option as compared to the waiver proposal.

WORK PROGRAM ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

On the 1998 multilateral work program for clarifying the scope and definition of what would constitute electronic transmissions, India, South Africa, Indonesia, and many other countries called for focused and structured discussions in the run-up to MC12.

In its intervention, India apparently called for engaging constructively on various issues under the work program, said people familiar with the discussions.

India appears to have called for a clear understanding on the scope of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic commerce to allow members to make an informed decision on the extension or otherwise of the moratorium at MC12.

India suggested that a reconsideration of the moratorium is critical for developing countries to preserve policy space to regulate imports. India apparently insisted that the discussion on the e-commerce work program should remain as a standing item on the GC agenda.

South Africa touched on several issues and the need to discuss development issues. South Africa spoke about the digital divide and the growing need for discussing the issues of classification, definition, and scope.

Indonesia reiterated that its long-standing position on the work program remained unchanged.

Indonesia’s trade envoy Ambassador Siregar said that “while we attach great importance to the development of e-commerce, the WTO should also focus its work on the developmental aspect of this sector.”

He said “this would ensure that the benefit of this specific area would not only be offered to a specific group of Members but also to all WTO Members.”

“Hence, Indonesia fully supports the reinvigoration of the multilaterally agreed 1998 Work Programme on E-Commerce, [and] it is important to complete work on clarifying what constitutes electronic transmissions and the moratorium’s impact on customs duties,” he said.

Several other countries such as Sri Lanka also called for reinvigorating the multilateral work on the 1998 work program because of the growing digital divide and the unaddressed issue of digital infrastructure.

US OPPOSITION TO DISCONTINUATION OF MORATORIUM

The United States said it wants a permanent moratorium, cautioning that ending the current moratorium creates uncertainty. The US said tariff-free treatment is essential and that an alternative view is difficult to accept.

The US delegate said there is no need for the WTO secretariat to “fish for implications”, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The US delegate pointed to certain procedural issues, cautioning that if the moratorium is discontinued then the 1998 work program could also be blocked, said people familiar with the development.

Brazil said it would support the extension of the moratorium, cautioning that any bad decision or a roll-back would be embarrassing for the credibility of the WTO.

Singapore, which is one of the three coordinators of the Joint Statement Initiative on digital trade, said it supports the renewal of the continuation of the moratorium.

PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR PSH PROGRAMS

At the GC meeting, many developing and least-developed countries called for a decision on the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security at MC12.

Indonesia reiterated “its priority and need to deliver the mandated issues in agriculture and fisheries subsidies for MC12 based on the Bali, Nairobi, and Buenos Aires outcomes.”

Indonesia said “MC12 should not leave without a meaningful outcome towards the establishment of a permanent solution on Public Stockholding for Food Security (PSH) and a comprehensive and balanced outcome on Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM).”

Indonesia’s trade envoy Ambassador Siregar said “agriculture reform is urgently needed to create a fair discipline that addresses the current pandemic challenges and its impact on food security.”

Indonesia welcomed “members’ proposals that provide options for the conclusion of a permanent solution on PSH, such as the one submitted by the African Group, to help provide a common basis upon which further negotiations on the development of new rules on PSH can proceed.”

Indonesia said the G33 is going to table a proposal on a permanent solution for PSH which it hopes to be a realistic and reliable proposal that could work as a basis of discussion towards MC12. Indonesia requested all Members to sincerely consider the proposal during the COASS on 29 July.

India said an outcome on the permanent solution for PSH programs is a sine qua non at MC12. India praised Ambassador Siregar for his focused work on the permanent solution for PSH programs as the coordinator of the G33 group.

SHARP DIVIDE ON THE “DELIVERABLES”

The members remained stuck to their respective approaches and divisive positions on several items on the GC agenda. They failed to arrive at a common minimum program on how to energize negotiations based on a set of “deliverables” after they return in September.

At the General Council meeting, there appeared to be little convergence on the major agenda items that were discussed. They include the TRIPS waiver, the work program on electronic commerce and moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions, the WTO’s response to the pandemic, and so on, said people familiar with the discussions.

The director-general Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke on how to remain optimistic and focus on three or four areas. The areas include fisheries subsidies negotiations, agriculture work program, and special and differential treatment among others.

She acknowledged that there are wide gaps and members’ positions remain far apart. Ms Okonjo-Iweala urged members to accelerate negotiations once they come back in September. She informed members that the chair of the Doha fisheries subsidies negotiations will issue a detailed work program by the end of this week to hasten the negotiations including line-by-line negotiations.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala also presented an initial report on the McKinsey & Company’s report on the reforms to be carried out at the WTO secretariat for bringing synergies and enhanced coordination between the various divisions.

The General Council (GC) chair Ambassador Dacio Castillo from Honduras presented detailed reports on his consultations with members on the implementation of the Bali, Nairobi and Buenos Aires outcomes, the work program on small economies, the work program on electronic commerce and preparations for MC12.

The GC chair’s reports merely indicated that everything is work in progress. He underscored the need for accelerating work on all issues, including consultations, by the next GC meeting to be held sometime in October.

The GC meeting is continuing on 28 July with discussion of several other items on the agenda. – Third World Netwrok

Published in SUNS #9397 dated 29 July 2021