MEPs Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) and Sven Simon (EPP, Germany) presented their draft resolution for the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference to their colleagues on Thursday 14 October.
In this text, they reiterate their commitment to rules-based trade that respects human rights and sustainable development goals.
In the run-up to the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), to be held in Geneva from 30 November to 3 December, the rapporteurs warn about the future of the organisation “if all members do not commit themselves to working towards a successful MC12”. They call on them to strive for tangible results.
Mr Lange and Mr Simon consider that, as a minimum, agreements must be reached on fisheries subsidies, trade and health and agriculture. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has repeatedly made the same plea. The rapporteurs also want the WTO reform process to be started at MC12, with focus on the problem of the dispute settlement process.
Antonio Fernandez Martos, Head of Unit at the European Commission’s DG Trade, joined them on this last point. In his view, a solution should be found for the dispute settlement process by the 13th Ministerial Conference in 2022.
But for co-rapporteur Sven Simon, there is still work to be done to achieve tangible results by the end of the year. “Several months after Okonjo-Iweala took office, progress remains slow”, he told the Committee on International Trade (INTA) meeting on 14 October.
Helmut Scholz (Greens/EFA, Germany) said the report was balanced. However, he indicated that his group would propose amendments with greater reference to environmental and climate objectives.
The resolution could also go further, by raising the possibility of sanctions for countries that do not respect international rules, according to Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D, Spain).
Finally, the lifting of patents on Covid-19 vaccines also came into the debate. While the EU refuses to agree to this proposal, Sara Mathieu (Greens/EFA, Belgium) insisted on the urgency of moving forward and agreeing on the lifting. “Are we ready to be seen as a road blocker? The European Commission’s proposal serves only as a delaying tactics”, she questioned.
Her colleague Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden) and Antonio Fernández-Martos defended the European position that lifting intellectual property rights will not solve the problem of vaccine supply to developing countries. For them, it is a matter of looking at the existing flexibilities in the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreements and finding a compromise between lifting and stimulating research through patents.
See the draft report: https://bit.ly/3j5Wrrw (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)