Leaders of the world’s seven most industrialised countries recognise the need to increase the production and availability of anti-Covid-19 medical products in low and middle income countries.
Aware of the “importance of intellectual property in this regard”, they promise to engage “constructively” in the WTO talks while remaining within the framework of the TRIPS Agreement, in the declaration they adopted on Sunday 13 June.
But the G7 does not advocate lifting patents on anti-Covid-19 medical products, contrary to the position advocated by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12738/1). Without mentioning the issue of compulsory licensing, it merely mentions “the positive impact of voluntary licensing agreements and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms” and the advantage of non-profit production.
Economy. The G7 estimates that the cumulative budgetary effort to address the pandemic is $12 trillion. In its view, emergency support must now evolve into aid that stimulates sustainable and inclusive growth with the goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
“Once the recovery is firmly established, we need to ensure the long-term sustainability of public finances to enable us to respond to future crises”, the G7 countries also stress.
See the G7 final communiqué: https://bit.ly/3q2G6pX (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)