India on Thursday welcomed the US move to back the India-South Africa joint proposal for TRIPS waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The US step could prove valuable in India’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as the waiver would ease up the laws related to intellectual property rights, and this, in turn, would help India manufacture and develop efficient vaccines against the coronavirus. In October last year, India and South Africa, along with 57 members of WTO proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for prevention, containment, and treatment of Covid-19.
In a statement, Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative said, “This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for Covid-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.”
“The Administration’s aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible. As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts—working with the private sector and all possible partners—to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines,” she added.
Welcoming the US support for global waiver on patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, India said it is hopeful that the waiver can be approved quickly at the WTO with a consensus-based approach. “We welcome the statement of the US government announcing their support for this initiative. We are hopeful that with a consensus-based approach, the waiver can be approved quickly at WTO,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. “During his recent phone call on 26 April 2021 with the US President Biden, Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] informed him about India’s initiative at the WTO which was aimed at the benefit of humanity,” the statement added.
In October last year, India and South Africa, along with 57 members of WTO proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement for prevention, containment, and treatment of Covid-19.
US President Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced its support for a global waiver on patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines and said it will negotiate the terms at the WTO.
India believes that intellectual property rights are potentially hindering timely provisioning of vaccine manufacturing and affordable medical products to the patients including vaccines. As things stand, some WTO members have carried out urgent legal amendments to their national patent laws to expedite the process of issuing compulsory/government use licences.
Beyond patents, other intellectual property rights may also pose a barrier, with limited options to overcome those barriers. In addition, many countries especially developing ones may face institutional and legal difficulties when using flexibilities available in the agreement on TRIPS.
After the announcement made, US support will give a fillip to achieve TRIPS waiver at WTO and will unblock various impediments in ramping up the production of vaccines. However, this is a time-consuming process and the case will go to the General Council.
Earlier, the US had relented after continuous pressure from developing countries led by India and South Africa, also the Biden administration witnessed domestic pressure as more than 100 lawmakers urged the US President to support the waiver.
Amid the acute shortage of vaccines, India has announced its phase three vaccination drive which entitles every citizen above 18 to get a jab.
India as of now has two major vaccine developers. Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech. The Russian vaccine Sputnik V has also entered the fray but they will be able to scale up production only by later this year. India will now be counting on more global manufacturers to fulfil the requirement and US support to waiver is certainly a piece of welcome news for India.
Ramping up global production of vaccines, removing hindrances in supply chains and TRIPS waiver will be part of the discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU leaders on Saturday during the India-EU summit, EU officials have said.
WITH ANI INPUTS