Bangladesh, India, Egypt call for TRIPS review with focus on development

Bangladesh, India, Colombia, and Egypt have called for a review of the TRIPS Agreement at the World Trade Organization (WTO), highlighting the need to focus on development, technology transfer, and other concerns of developing countries. 

This call comes after the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi failed to extend a temporary waiver for the production of COVID-19-related therapeutics and diagnostics, reports The Hindu.

"We, keeping in mind the upcoming 30th anniversary of the TRIPS Agreement, call upon the Council for TRIPS to undertake and finalize its first review under Article 71 on the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement...shall take fully into account the development dimension and shall provide a report on the progress made, including any recommendations, to the Ministers at the 14th Ministerial Conference," reads the joint submission by the countries.

The TRIPS Agreement, which took effect on 1 January 1995 mandates minimum standards of intellectual property rights protection for each WTO Member. 

One of the primary tasks of Bangladesh and the others in their submission is fast-tracking of the long-pursued examination of the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore.

While the CBD recognises countries' sovereign rights over their biological resources, the TRIPS Agreement allows members to provide patents over biological resources (plants, animals and micro-organisms). 

Bangladesh and several other developing nations have been long demanding changes in the TRIPS Agreement to bring it in conformity with the CBD and have rules that prevent bio-piracy and protect traditional knowledge.

"Pursuant to paragraph 19 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, we request the Council for TRIPS to expedite ongoing work to examine the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore.

Although the WTO MC13 failed to extend TRIPS waiver on vaccines to therapeutics and diagnostics, the declaration stated that work should continue in relevant WTO bodies based on Members' submissions to review and build on all the lessons learned and the challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This should be done to build effective solutions in case of future pandemics in an expeditious manner," it said.

The countries have urged the TRIPS Council to swiftly carry out the review so that recommendations can be presented at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in two years in Cameroon.