New Delhi/Geneva/Washington/New York: India has welcomed the statement of the US government of May 5, 2021, announcing their support for the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver. In view of the global health crisis and the need to combat the Covid 19 pandemic, India and South Africa had proposed in World Trade Organisation(WTO) on October 2, 2020 a relaxation in the norms of the agreement on TRIPS, to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries. As a result of proactive outreach by India and other like-minded countries, the proposal received the support of more than 120 countries.
In New Delhi, an Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry release stated today that the waiver was an important step for enabling rapid scaling up of manufacture and timely availability of affordable Covid 19 vaccines and essential medical products. “We are hopeful that with a consensus based approach, the waiver can be approved quickly at the WTO,” it stated.
Also read: TRIPS Council to continue to discuss temporary Intellectual Property waiver in view of COVID-19
Earlier, in Washington, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden had spoken about his support for this type of a waiver back during his election campaign. “Well, clearly as these decisions are weighed, we take intellectual property incredibly seriously. And we also, though, are in the midst of a historic global pandemic, which requires a range of creative solutions. And we’re looking at it through that prism,” she said.
Just before US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the US decision, Psaki told mediapersons, “…we’re really talking about the U.S. position as it relates to the WTO process… the consideration now is — the U.S. position, our objective overall, as we look at this decision is: How can we provide as much supply in the most cost-effective way to the global community? And clearly, there are steps we’ve announced. We’ve take — we’re in the process of taking — providing 60 million doses to the global community — once we have that available — that are AstraZeneca doses. Earlier this week, Pfizer announced they’ll also be sending doses, or manufacturing doses, for the global community. And we’re going to continue to work with our partners. I expect we’ll have more — now that the WTO meetings are underway, we’ll have more to say very soon on this.”
Tai later made an official declaration of the US’s willingness to engage with proponents of a temporary waiver of the TRIPS Agreement to help in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. She issued a statement saying the extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to respond and that the waiving of intellectual property protections on vaccines was needed to help end the pandemic. The United States would, the statement continued, participate in World Trade Organization negotiations to support the temporary waiving of protections, and work with the private sector and other partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
In Geneva, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala remarked: As I told the General Council yesterday, we need to respond urgently to COVID-19 because the world is watching and people are dying. I am pleased that the proponents are preparing a revision to their proposal and I urge them to put this on the table as soon as possible so that text-based negotiations can commence. It is only by sitting down together that we will find a pragmatic way forward — acceptable to all members — which enhances developing countries’ access to vaccines while protecting and sustaining the research and innovation so vital to the production of these life-saving vaccines.”
At the United Nations in New York, the Secretary-General, António Guterres welcomed the United States Government’s “unprecedented support” for the waiver of intellectual property protections regarding COVID-19 vaccines. “It opens the opportunity for vaccine producers to share the knowledge and technology that will allow the effective expansion of locally produced vaccines and can significantly increase the supply to the COVAX facility. We must also ensure that countries have the materials required to produce these vaccines. We are all agreed: none of us will be safe from the virus until all of us are safe,” he stated.
In Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the commitment by the United States administration to support the temporary waiver of intellectual property on COVID-19 vaccines in a bold move to end the pandemic as quickly as possible. “This is a monumental moment in the fight against COVID-19…I commend the United States on its historic decision for vaccine equity and prioritizing the well-being of all people everywhere at a critical time. Now let’s all move together swiftly, in solidarity, building on the ingenuity and commitment of scientists who produced life-saving COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.
– global bihari bureau
