Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 5 • Number 29 • 31st July 2001
TRIPs Continues Discussions On Medicines
WTO Members at an informal meeting of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) on 25 July discussed issues related to TRIPs and access to medicines in preparation for the next formal TRIPs Council meeting in September and the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November. After raising a broad range of issues during a special day of discussions at the last Council meeting in June (see BRIDGES Weekly, 26 June 2001), WTO Members agreed to focus on issues related to the objectives and principles of the TRIPs Agreement, compulsory licences and parallel imports.
TRIPs Council sets agenda for September meeting
Following a suggestion by Chair Ambassador Chidyausiku from Zimbabwe, the agenda of the September TRIPs Council meeting will focus in particular on principles and objectives of the TRIPs Agreement as set out in Articles 7 and 8; issues related to compulsory licensing (i.e. governments can allow the use of a patent without the consent of the patent-holder under certain conditions), and parallel importation measures (i.e. allowing governments to obtain a patented drug more cheaply from foreign suppliers rather than from the manufacturer’s local subsidiary).
Members furthermore discussed a fourth suggestion, namely a ‘moratorium’ or ‘due restraint’ on dispute settlement actions, i.e. developed countries would refrain from challenging cases involving access to medicines under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. While developing countries, especially India and Brazil, supported this proposal, several developed country Members, in particular the US, Switzerland and the EU, opposed the idea, arguing that the TRIPs Council did not have the necessary mandate to deal with this ‘political’ issue.
The Council also debated the question of whether the TRIPs Agreement hinders access to essential medicines. The US reiterated its position that the Agreement afforded countries sufficient flexibility to meet public health objectives, calling on critics to provide proof that patent protection negatively affects access to drugs. Members also addressed the questions of whether differential (or ‘tiered’) pricing should be discussed in the TRIPs Council; how to avoid discounted drugs being exported from developing to industrialised country markets; and how to interpret Article 31(f), which stipulates that products made under compulsory licenses should predominantly supply the domestic market.
Africa Group proposes elements for Doha Declaration
The Africa Group noted the “willingness to move forward on this issue [access to medicines]” and the “goodwill” that has been exhibited by Members. In a joint statement on its behalf and on behalf of several other developing countries, the Group addressed some of the questions raised at the June meeting related to the mandate of the TRIPs Council, compulsory licenses and parallel import. Furthermore, the statement included suggestions for the Doha preparations, calling on the Chair to begin initiating the necessary processes to identify possible elements of the Ministerial Declaration.
In particular, the Africa Group proposed a number of “vital elements” for the Doha Declaration, including the use of Articles 7 and 8 in the interpretation of all TRIPs provisions; countries’ right to determine the grounds for issuing compulsory licenses; recognition of compulsory licences issued for a foreign manufacturer; a moratorium on all dispute actions aimed at preventing or limiting Members’ capacity to promote access to medicines and protect public health; and the extension of transition periods for developing and Least-developed Countries.
The Group also referred to the checklist — prepared by the WTO Secretariat following a decision at the June Council meeting — listing all provision of the TRIPs Agreement which Members had referred to in their interventions during the June meeting (JOB(01)/113). While noting that the list did not reflect the “high degree of convergence amongst the WTO Membership” on key issues raised at the meeting, the Group welcomed the Secretariat’s neutrality on matters of interpretation of WTO Agreements.
The TRIPs Council will meet on 19-21 September with one day set aside for discussing issues related to TRIPs and access to medicines. “TWN Report on TRIPs and health session in WTO on 25 July 2001,” TWN, 27 July 2001; ICTSD Internal Files.