Several experts criticised the European Commission’s announcements on a potential tightening of the export authorisation mechanism for Covid-19 vaccines at a hearing in the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) on 17 March.
According to Global Trade Alert’s Professor of Economic Development , Simon Evenett, the restrictions imposed by the EU could have serious economic consequences for countries that refuse an export. “This action will make any economic actor think twice about the profitability of setting up a production site in this Member State”, he told MEPs. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had announced earlier in the day that she was considering additional measures to ensure that the EU also receives vaccines from third countries (see EUROPE 12680/3). According to three European sources quoted by Reuters, France, Germany and Italy support the Commission’s position to toughen up on exports. The subject will be discussed between the Member States at the next European Council on 25 and 26 March, according to another source.
Costa Rica’s former trade minister and now a fellow at the Institute for International Economics, Anabel González, also concurred, insisting that such restrictions could not possibly increase production of Covid-19 vaccines. “If the EU restricts exports, other countries may in turn restrict the supply of materials for vaccines. No country is capable of producing a vaccine from scratch”, she told MEPs.
She considers that production can be increased through public-private partnerships between governments and pharmaceutical companies, increased cooperation between states and facilitation of cross-border flows.
Lifting of patents. The removal of intellectual property rights, on the other hand, was identified by participants as a false solution. Several MEPs have brought the subject back to the table, such as the two Belgians Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D) and Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA).
According to Simon Evenett, the knowledge transfer would not be complete and sufficient to increase production. “It is quite possible that the lifting of patents, if achieved, would be a Pyrrhic victory”, he insisted. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)