H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter

Switzerland

3 IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

144.   As a great supporter of transparency, Switzerland would like to thank the Secretariat for this compilation of measures. 145.   Switzerland recently sent an update to the WTO Secretariat, informing that the premises of its IP Office are open again for visitors since early June. We thank the WTO Secretariat for updating the respective table on its website accordingly. 146.   Switzerland attaches great importance to questions related to access to medicines, in particular in times of a crisis. In this respect, we believe that cooperation is important and that a voluntary approach is most effective. I will, however, come back on this in more detail under agenda item 14.

The Council took note of the statements made.

15.   The Chair said that the item had been put on the agenda at the request of South Africa, referring to the document "COVID-19: Measures Regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights", which was available from the WTO website and contained a non-exhaustive list of IP-related measures taken in the context of COVID-19. The list compiled by the Secretariat from official sources and verified by the Members concerned. It was updated continuously, and the latest version was always available on the WTO website. She invited South Africa to introduce the item.
16.   The representative of South Africa took the floor to introduce the item.
17.   The representatives of Nigeria; Brazil; China; Chile; India; El Salvador; the Russian Federation; Indonesia; Ecuador; the United States of America; the European Union; Australia; and Switzerland took the floor.
18.   The Council took note of the statements made.

IP/C/M/95, IP/C/M/95/Add.1