 |
| Related News |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| WTO Ministers Reach Agreement on Access to Drugs |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
TUE, NOV 13, 2001
|
|
|
Ministers at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Doha have ironed out their differences on access to life-saving medicines, a key issue preventing them from agreeing on an agenda for new free trade talks, officials said Monday.
Both developing countries and developed countries claimed they were "happy" with a revised draft text of declaration on the issue already finalized by trade negotiators and to be formally approved by a working group late in the night.
Swiss delegate Pierre-louis Girard told reporters that his country was satisfied with the draft on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and public health.
He said that the new text bears two major advantages as it defines what are public health problems and at the same time has a"clear reaffirmation" to members' commitments to the TRIPS agreement.
A EU delegate also gave positive appraisement to the text, saying that it clarifies the interpretation of the TRIPS agreement.
As demanded by most developing countries, the declaration states that the TRIPS agreement "should not prevent members from taking measures to protect public health" -- a wording major pharmaceutical exporters like the United States and Switzerland had objected.
Indian delegate Jayant Bhuyan said the draft is acceptable to India, which has held strong against the launch of any new round without resolving the outstanding issues regarding the implementation of previous agreements.
Bhuyan said that draft declarations on TRIPS and other pending issues are expected to be circulated among ministers Tuesday morning.
As many delegates put it, the resolution of TRIPS issue did not point to a bright prospect of the five-day ministerial opening Friday. Except for some progress on anti-dumping and implementation, wide gaps remain on agriculture, environment, and new issues (investment, competition, labor standards and government procurement) in particular.
|
|
|
