The Trade Ministers of the EU Member States will meet in Geneva on Monday 29 November, the day before the start of the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization. At this meeting, they should adopt conclusions formulating the European expectations and position for the MC12. EUROPE had access to a version of these conclusions dated 23 November (https://bit.ly/313RNo6 ).
At the end of the MC12, on 3 December, the ministers will meet again to adopt the MC12 conclusions. EUROPE also had access to a version of this document dated 25 November (https://bit.ly/3HYqCLW ).
Response to Covid-19
The EU Council supports an agreement at the MC12 on trade and health, and in particular on the response to Covid-19. This section should include information on the intellectual property of Covid-19 vaccines.
On this last issue, the Ministers fully support the Commission’s approach, presented in June this year. Rather than temporarily waive intellectual property rights on vaccines, it recommends facilitating the use of compulsory licencing under the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement.
These compulsory licences allow a government, under certain conditions, to grant a patent to a company to produce the medical products, without having to ask the patent holder for permission. The Commission wants to clarify and facilitate their use, for example by ensuring that the Covid-19 pandemic is recognised as a national emergency, thus circumventing the obligation to negotiate with the patent holder.
The Commission is also calling for the removal of export restrictions on medical products.
“This is a balanced position, which maintains the incentive for innovation of intellectual property rights”, says a European official.
For the Commission, intellectual property is only a small obstacle in the mass production and distribution of vaccines worldwide. This is why it continues to oppose a general lifting of patents. This is despite the fact that the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the temporary lifting of patents on Covid-19 vaccines on 25 November (see EUROPE 12840/19).
“It seems difficult to have an agreement on this issue for the MC12”, an EU source told EUROPE. “The countries that support the lifting have a strong position, discussions have been going on for a year now at the WTO”, the source added.
Fisheries subsidies
The EU Council indicated that it would support an agreement on fisheries subsidies that support illegal and unregulated fishing at this MC12. On this issue, three different European sources express greater optimism about the possibility of an agreement between WTO members. However, many issues remain open. Members are notably still divided on special and differential treatment for least developed countries and on the inclusion of fuel subsidies in the text.
The EU does not expect this last point to be included in the text, according to an EU source.
Agriculture
While an agreement is expected and hoped for on agricultural trade, there are doubts as to whether this is possible. According to an EU source, an agreement is expected for the 13th Ministerial Conference.
Gloria Abraham Peralta (Costa Rica), who chairs the WTO negotiations, said on 23 November that members had made little progress in the talks. She also regretted that the revised text is less ambitious than the previous one.
Organisational reform
The EU Ministers also support the Commission’s proposal for the reform of the organisation. It is about restoring the WTO’s core functions of surveillance and deliberation; and as a platform for negotiations to develop new rules.
To carry out this reform, the EU Council “supports the establishment of a working group on institutional improvements to the functioning of the WTO, with a view to deliver meaningful results by MC13”, the conclusions state.
According to an EU source, however, there is not much support for this proposal in the WTO.
Finally, the Ministers support the progress of the discussions on the joint initiative declarations that will be discussed during the MC12. These non-binding documents cover e-commerce, trade and the environment, regulation of services, investment, fossil fuel subsidies and polluting plastics. The EU Council “supports the ongoing efforts of WTO Members towards plurilateral cooperation through Joint Statement Initiatives”, and hopes to see them adopted. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)