Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

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1. Meeting date

2. Chairperson

H.E. Ambassador Dr Lansana GBERIE

3. Intervention by

Tanzania on behalf of African Group

4. Agenda item

12 PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT ADOPTED ON 17 JUNE 2022

5. Statement/summary of statement

219.   I am taking the floor on behalf of the African Group. First, to continue to register our disappointment with the December 2022 decision to extend the deadline set by Ministers during MC12. As alluded by the African Group Coordinator in the General Council meeting last week, the extension clearly indicates the absence of political will to duly implement consensual decisions taken by our Ministers. Indeed, the failure to timely address a critical issue like this does not instil optimism needed to address contemporary challenges that the World Trade Organization faces. The longer it takes to deliberate on the extension of the MC12 TRIPS Decision to cover the production and supply of diagnostics and therapeutics, the less credible contribution WTO will make to the lifesaving efforts for COVID-19 patients. 220.   The African Group did show maximum flexibility in agreeing to the extension of the six-month continuation. It was done in good faith to accommodate the request of some Members to undertake domestic consultations, which apparently some Members are using as an excuse from engaging and establishing new narratives, which we find somehow disturbing. We call on those Members to finalize their domestic processes as soon as possible for the decision to be adopted well before MC13. 221.   We believe the decision will guarantee developing Members and LDCs equitable and affordable access to therapeutics and diagnostics through diversified production and supply. We would like also to call upon the Council for TRIPS to commence discussions in any format, formal or informal, small groups or larger groups, to discuss substantive issues on this matter as soon as possible towards concluding the matter. I would like to assure you, Chair, and Members, that the African Group is committed to work collaboratively with other Members for an expeditious outcome on this agenda item.

6. Documents referred to in intervention

7. Conclusion

60. The Council so agreed.

8. Summary of the agenda item (if available)

56. The Chair recalled that under paragraph 8 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, adopted on 17 June 2022, Members had agreed to make a decision within six months from adoption, on whether to extend this Decision to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. He also recalled that at the last formal meeting in October – and resumed in December – the Council had recommended to the General Council to extend the deadline for such a decision. The General Council, at its meeting on 19 December 2022, had agreed to this recommendation and resolved to return to the question of the duration of the extension at its next meeting. At its recent meeting on 6-7 March 2023, the General Council had agreed that it would keep the question of the duration of the extension on its agenda again for its next meeting – and that Members would provide updates on where they stand on their internal processes. In the meantime, substantive discussions would continue in the Council for TRIPS. It was against this background, that the item was on the Council's agenda.
57. The representatives of Tanzania, on behalf of the African Group; South Africa; Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group; Nepal; Egypt; Kenya, on behalf of the ACP Group; Indonesia; China; India; the United States of America; Brazil; Switzerland; Japan; the United Kingdom; Chinese Taipei; the European Union; Korea, Republic of; Singapore; and Norway took the floor.
58. With respect to next steps, the Chair said that in his experience, Council discussions were most constructive when they were well prepared and took place on the basis of submissions and proposals that Members had been able to study in advance. The 10-day rule for the closing of the Airgram was intended precisely for that purpose, namely, to allow Members to prepare for the items on the agenda, so that discussions at the Council meeting were constructive and focused. The next formal meeting of the Council was scheduled for 14-15 June – and the agenda for that meeting would close on 1 June.
59. Given that his term as Chair ended with the current meeting, he suggested that the new Chair be invited to consult with Members on how best to move forward with work under this agenda item.
60. The Council so agreed.

9. Document symbol and date of distribution

IP/C/M/107, IP/C/M/107/Add.1
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