WTO safety net ends for compulsory licensing, may impact public health policy in developing nations

The impasse and lack of consensus at the recently concluded 14th Ministerial Conference (MC-14) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Cameroon led to an end to the safeguard against non-violation complaints under the TRIPS (Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).

The WTO safety net under TRIPS was in place since 1995, which gave leverage to developing countries to protect their policy space in areas of public health.

Explaining the impact of the move, GTRI’s Founder Ajay Shrivastava said that now “even WTO-compliant measures such as compulsory licensing can be challenged by developed countries for affecting their expected commercial gains.
For India, this increases the risk of disputes over its intellectual property rules, including provisions like Section 3(d) of its patent law.” Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act curbs evergreening of patents for existing drugs, unless the new claims are superior in terms of efficacy.
MC-14’s Chair, Cameroon’s Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana said that while all trade ministers worked to conclude as many issues as possible across various areas of negotiations from 26th to 29th March, they “ran out of time” on several issues, such as the WTO’s work programme on electronic commerce, continuation of waiver on customs duties for electronic transmissions and non-violation complaints under the TRIPS.

Also Read: Sole dissenter India flags sovereignty risks, blocks IFD’s inclusion in WTO rulebook

The Ministerial Conference, held every two years, is the highest decision-making body of the WTO.

Welcoming the progress in discussions for a work programme for advancing ongoing talks on WTO reform, the decision on advancing work on further disciplines on harmful fisheries subsidies, and other issues, WTO’s Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged member countries to use the draft texts developed over the four days of ministerial discussions to finalize agreements on outstanding issues the WTO HQ in Geneva at the next General Council meeting.

Also Read: WTO impasse may lead to duties on digital downloads, streaming; impact big tech cos

WTO’s statement said that ministers agreed to continue engagement in negotiations on fisheries subsidies, aiming to make recommendations to the 15th Ministerial Conference.