US to keep pushing WTO for IP framework on Covid-19 vaccines

Delay of meeting due to new variant shows much work left to be done: US trade chief

WASHINGTON • US Trade Representative Katherine Tai says the United States will continue to push for World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to agree on an intellectual property framework for Covid-19 vaccines after a major WTO ministerial meeting set for this week was postponed.

The delay of the in-person meeting in Geneva last Friday due to travel restrictions and concerns about the spread of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant complicates Ms Tai’s plans to push her vision for WTO reform and rekindle the spirit of dynamism and compromise that led to the trade body’s creation in 1995.

In a pair of tweets, Ms. Tai said the postponement “is a reminder that we still have much work to do to end the pandemic”.

“The United States will continue working with @WTO members to achieve a multifaceted outcome on trade and health, including an international IP framework, that supports the global pandemic response and puts the WTO in a stronger position to meet the needs of regular people,” the US Trade Representative said.

The WTO’s director-general, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said she wanted negotiations to continue despite no in-person travel, while adding that Geneva-based country delegations should be empowered to reach deals, especially on vaccines.