EU Statement at the General Council, 25-26 July 2022
- REPORT BY THE CHAIR OF THE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE AND REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
and
- IMPLEMENTATION MATTERS FROM MC12 MANDATES
The European Union thanks the DG and the Chair of the General Council (GC) for the very comprehensive and useful reports.
We take note of the suggestion by the Chair of the General Council to make better use of the GC rules of procedure to be more effective.
The autumn will be intense, and it needs to be so. We hope to engage in a spirit of cooperation on the issues coming out of MC12 and face today’s challenges, including humanitarian ones. We find it appalling that the ink has not yet dried on the agreement to unblock grain exports from Ukraine, and Russia is already bombarding the port of Odessa the next day. The European Union calls on Russia to immediately stop its military aggression against Ukraine which is the only way to stop the humanitarian and food security crisis.
As suggested by the GC Chair, we would ask that the statement we delivered at the Trade Negotiation Committee/Heads of Delegation meeting on 7 July is incorporated into the record of this meeting.
- PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT ADOPTED ON 17 JUNE 2022 - DOCUMENT WT/MIN(22)/30 (MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT OF 17 JUNE 2022) – REQUEST FROM SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA, INDONESIA, EGYPT, PAKISTAN AND ARGENTINA ON BEHALF OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF IP/C/W/669/REV.1
The European Union welcomes the outcome achieved during the WTO Ministerial Conference in June on a number of clarifications and a waiver of certain obligations of the TRIPS Agreement to allow eligible WTO Members to authorise a company to manufacture and export COVID-19 vaccines in a fast and simplified manner without the consent of the patent owner.
The solution backs and clarifies the flexibilities that exist in the TRIPS Agreement. It simplifies the process to export vaccines and their ingredients to other developing countries which should help overcome difficulties related to the domestic implementation of the TRIPS Agreement flexibilities and support developing countries in scaling up their production capacity and supplying vaccines to other developing countries.
The outcome and the discussions that we have had over the last year should also lead to all WTO Members equipping themselves with agile and efficient legislative frameworks that fully use all the flexibilities that already exist in the TRIPS Agreement.
The outcome maintains the protection of intellectual property, a key element for developing countries not only to benefit from the innovation that the system sustains but also to have the environment that incentivises the needed investments in the pharmaceutical sector.
The European Union is ready to engage constructively in the discussions on the extension of the mechanism agreed by the WTO Ministerial Conference to therapeutics and diagnostics. We are currently analysing the situation on the market as regards these products in order to prepare consultations with our Member States.
- TRADE RELATED CHALLENGES OF THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND WAY FORWARD (WT/GC/W/807) – REQUEST FROM DJIBOUTI ON BEHALF OF THE LDC GROUP
The European Union is mindful of the challenges that Least Developed Countries face in integrating in the global trading system.
At MC12, Members acknowledged the particular challenges that LDC graduation presents. The EU has heard and engaged with LDC concerns throughout the run-up to MC12.
The European Union will continue to support constructive initiatives to better integrate members with capacity constraints into the multilateral trading system, and to take into account in that connection the specific situation of graduating LDCs. We especially encourage discussions based on analysis that shows where specific difficulties exist.
- PROPOSED GENERAL COUNCIL DECISION ON PROCEDURES TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY AND IMPROVE COMPLIANCE WITH NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS UNDER WTO AGREEMENTS – ALBANIA; ARGENTINA; AUSTRALIA; BRAZIL; CANADA; CHILE; COLOMBIA; COSTA RICA; THE EUROPEAN UNION; ICELAND; ISRAEL; JAPAN; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; LIECHTENSTEIN; MEXICO; REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA; MONTENEGRO; NEW ZEALAND; NORTH MACEDONIA; NORWAY; PARAGUAY, PERU; THE PHILIPPINES; SINGAPORE; SWITZERLAND; THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU; THAILAND; UNITED KINGDOM; THE UNITED STATES; AND URUGUAY (JOB/GC/204/REV.11 - JOB/CTG/14/REV.11)
We have listened carefully to the various interventions. Over the last few months, the United States and other cosponsors have made significant efforts to proactively speak to Members and accommodate the comments and concerns raised. The proposal has been significantly recalibrated. It is now focused on incentives: the decision relates to existing notification requirements; it will essentially launch a process open to all Members to consider ways to help Members submit their due notifications; and it includes a strong focus on support and assistance to Members.
We all agree that transparency and notifications are critical. MC12 showed that when there is political will, we can take actions that set us on the right track. This proposal is about launching a positive process, without prejudice to the outcome.
As several Members before us have indicated, it is crucial that we benefit from updated and accurate information. We have taken good note of the comments that the proposal is focused on Annex 1A (goods). We indeed “need to start somewhere” and the initial focus on goods does not prevent us from addressing TRIPS and GATS at a later stage. We should take steps to modernise the Organisation now.
- STRENGTHENING THE WTO TO PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVITY - COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP, CUBA, INDIA AND PAKISTAN (WT/GC/W/778/REV.5)
The European Union appreciates the Members' engagement in exploring how to reform the WTO. We are carefully reviewing the views and ideas set out in this Communication as we believe in a process where all voices can be heard. MC12 provided evidence that we can find ways forward when working constructively together.
At MC12 members also agreed to reform the WTO in order to make it more capable of responding effectively to the challenges facing the multilateral trading system.
In this context, the EU calls on all Members to engage constructively on WTO reform. Going forward, we should disaggregate the individual components of reform: 1. Monitoring and deliberating function, 2. the negotiating function, 3. Dispute settlement, where we have agreed that a fully functioning dispute settlement system should be in place by 2024. The European Union intends to participate in deliberations with an open mind so that reforms are both meaningful and respond to the expectations of the broad WTO membership. It will be important to deliver concrete improvements by MC13.
We are open to engaging with the membership on previous submitted proposals in this context as well as upcoming proposals.
Integration of developing countries in the multilateral trading system is one of the central objectives of the sustainable development goals. We remain of the view that developing countries should be provided with assistance and flexibilities.
The European Union is open to considering ideas on how to promote a more forward looking engagement on development issues.
We look forward to engaging further in reform discussions in the autumn.
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