TRADE: Modest Progress on Drugs amid Stagnant WTO Debates

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

DOHA, Nov 13 2001 (IPS) - Negotiations at the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) saw some progress Monday on a deal to ensure that developing countries have low-cost access to pharmaceuticals, but remain bogged down on most other questions with only one day of sessions left.

A proposal aimed at unblocking the debate on the rules governing intellectual property rights and public health policy was well received by most of the more than 140 delegations that have been taking part in the conference in the Qatar capital since last Friday.

The version of the text that was under discussion said that the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) “should” not prevent governments from adopting measure to protect public health.

The following paragraph stated, among other points, that the TRIPS accord “can and should” be interpreted and applied “in a manner supportive of WTO members’ right to protect public health and to ensure access to medicines for all.”

In general terms, the document states that developing countries facing health crises would be granted waivers from intellectual property rights on patents, which otherwise remain in place for 20 years.

Protests on some items, however, came from the African bloc and India, which sought a WTO declaration that consecrates the right of nations to guarantee health services for their populations without fear of becoming embroiled in an international legal dispute on patents.

The Brazilian delegation, which co-authored the proposal, said the text was a “positive” step.

The diplomat says this portion of the ministerial declaration responds to “the challenges we face” in achieving an interpretation of the WTO’s TRIPS agreement that is “constructive, flexible and favourable to public health.”

The draft document would give countries facing epidemics like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, to bypass the international rules on patents in order to produce the needed pharmaceuticals themselves or buy cheaper generic drugs from other countries.

The text of the declaration must still be approved by the plenary of the WTO ministers. But before it reaches that point, the delegations from the sub-Saharan African countries and from India intend to introduce some modifications that would clear up some of the vague language.

The African bloc and India are demanding that the conditional tone of two specific paragraphs be replaced by the definite term “shall”.

Ellen ‘t Hoen, representing the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders (Médicins Sans Frontières – MSF), commented that with such changes the document would be a “meaningful declaration.”

MSF has been among the non-governmental organisations that have mobilised international public opinion in favour of the African- led campaign to put human health concerns above pharmaceutical patent rights.

The London-based Oxfam International, another civil society organisation that is spearheading the initiative, celebrated the progress made in the health-related text of the ministerial declaration, though activists from the group said it still had two weak points.

Gonzalo Fanjul Suárez, head of Oxfam’s institutional relations, agreed with India and the African bloc that the text should be given more teeth by replacing “can and should” with the word “shall”.

Another Oxfam leader, Michael Bailey, of the group’s trade and investment team, said it was “a pity” that the text did not resolve the question of compulsory licensing, which is the right of government to grant permits to copy patented medicines.

Resolution of the question of access to low-cost medications is considered key for the successful conclusion of the conference, an event the industrialised countries hope to convert into the launch of a new round of multilateral negotiations to further liberalise global trade.

But other important matters remain bogged down, with no advances seen so far in establishing investment and competition rules, or in achieving compromises on farm trade.

Roberto Lavagna, a delegate from Argentina, blamed the European Union for the paralysis in the agricultural debate, saying the bloc had presented excessive demands at the last minute.

Munir Akram, of Pakistan, said the talks on the implementation of previous accords that were left pending have remained at a deadlock due to the United States stance on textile trade.

The industrialised nations refuse to eliminate the quota systems they use to protect their textile and clothing industries from the more competitive imports coming from developing countries.

The ministerial conference concludes Tuesday, when the trade diplomats from the member states are expected to sign the final declarations that will lay out the future policies for multilateral trade.