India, US discuss IPR waiver on jabs’ proposal

WASHINGTON: Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Katherine Tai discussed Friday ongoing negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on a proposal put forward by India and South Africa to temporarily waive intellectual property rights to Covid-19 vaccines to ensure equitable access to them around the world.

India’s proposal on waiver of certain Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provisions to increase global vaccine production in order to take on the challenge of vaccinating the poorest of the poor and save lives was discussed, an official statement said. “The meeting focused on increasing vaccine availability in an inclusive and equitable manner to combat the global pandemic caused by Covid-19,” the statement said. The minister mentioned that the supply chains for the vaccine manufacturers must be kept open and unbridled as the entire world is in dire need of vaccines.

“Both sides agreed to work towards the common resolve of increasing vaccine availability and saving lives,” it added

US Trade Representative Tai reaffirmed US “commitment” to help India during its time of need, her office said in a readout of their virtual conversation. She told Goyal the US support for the waiver and textbased negotiations at the WTO is a part of the Biden-harris Administration’s “comprehensive effort to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution around the world”.

Tai announced US support for the proposal last week under mounting pressure from other WTO member countries and Democrats at home.

In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19. The agreement on TRIPS came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights .