Fear-Mongering on Threatened Incentives to Innovation Dominate US-ITC Hearings, Activists Pick Apart Narratives [Update: WTO Waiver Extension Decision for COVID-19 Drugs & Tests]

Newsletter Edition #183 [The Files In-Depth]

Hi,

Two years ago on May 5 2020, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, held out a promise.

The US indicated its intention to engage with the TRIPS waiver discussions, albeit to consider a partial waiver on patents for COVID-19 vaccines. That promise tantalized and aggravated the TRIPS Waiver discussions at the WTO. For many, that promise was essentially never fulfilled. (See Trade Won, Health Did Not. A Sliver of a Waiver at the WTO.)

Today we bring you an analysis on the US-ITC hearings on the extension of the TRIPS decision to COVID-19 tests and treatments. My colleague Alyssa Chetrick, has conducted this exclusive, painstaking analysis on these public hearings from March 2023 and what they reveal.

It is impossible to understand why the US took two years to undertake these investigations.

After tracking these discussions for more than two years at the WTO, it was for the first time in March 2023 that the US-ITC public hearings revealed the layers and complexities in this debate. It also brought to light the “language of power” and the “grip of narratives” that these discussions embody. It is a pity that the entire negotiations at the WTO were held behind closed doors without as much as giving a glimpse of how power dominates absolutely in such discussions.

Also remember that we are in a different world now than even a year ago. The EU has proposed reforms to its approach on compulsory licensing.

We will update our book published last year on the TRIPS Waiver negotiations, once these discussions at the WTO reach a logical conclusion.

Like our work? Consider supporting our journalism that ensures nuance, detail, and accuracy. Readers paying for our work helps us meet our costs. Thank you for reading.

Until later!

Best,

Priti

Feel free to write to us: patnaik.reporting@gmail.com or genevahealthfiles@protonmail.com; Follow us on Twitter: @filesgeneva

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I. STORY OF THE WEEK

Fear-Mongering on Threatened Incentives to Innovation Dominate US-ITC Hearings, Activists Pick Apart Narratives

[Update on WTO Waiver Extension Decision for COVID Tests & Treatments]

By Alyssa Chetrick & Priti Patnaik

Prevailing positions on the role of intellectual property in the access to medical products came to the fore at recent discussions on whether to temporarily relax certain IP rules  (as agreed in the WTO June 2022 Ministerial decision) to COVID-19 tests and treatments. Activists clarified the scope of such an extension and the merits in improving access to tests and treatments, and the industry experts stating arguments emphasizing the need to protect incentives, investments and jobs in the US.

The nervousness of the industry and its allies were palpable in these discussions with some suggesting that “even the perception of IP erosion can have a significant impact on investors’ appetite”. Rhetoric and certain narratives characterized several testimonies by industry groups, while activists rebutted assertions.

As we discuss in this story, the real concerns lie beyond health. It is really about how IP will be treated at the WTO going forward.

These discussions under the aegis of the US International Trade Commission held in March 2023 were part of an internal fact-finding exercise conducted by the US government to help inform its policy at the WTO on this matter.

Recall that paragraph 8 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, from June 2022, WTO members had agreed to make a decision within six months, on whether to extend the decision to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. This initial deadline concluded on December 17, 2022.

Image credit: Photo by Hugo Sykes, Pexels