Developing Countries Push for a Review of TRIPS Agreement at the WTO, Stalled by Few Developed Countries

Newsletter Edition #223 [The Files In-Depth]

Hi,

In today’s edition, we bring you an update you need to know, on the critical discussions taking place at the World Trade Organization, where some developing countries are seeking a review of the TRIPS Agreement - the structure on which current day intellectual property system is built upon.

These discussions could go “the WTO way”, where proposals meander and languish for months and years, without making effective progress. Or, it could, reflective of changing geopolitics, revitalize policy discussions that can have implications beyond immediate trade concerns including for health, climate and how technology is shared. We are therefore watching this space.

Thank you for reading.

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Until later.

Best,

Priti

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Illustration Credit: Amy Clarke, Chembe Collaborative

I. TRADE & HEALTH UPDATE

Developing Countries Push for a Review of TRIPS Agreement at the WTO, Stalled by Few Developed Countries

Intellectual Property (IP) rules have long determined the policy space for countries especially when it comes to regulating the interface between trade and health. WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), that governs and enforces this multilateral system has not been reviewed in the 30 years since the Agreement was concluded on April 15, 2024.

Some developing countries are seeking a review of the Agreement as enshrined in the law itself.

Why now? Countries including Colombia, a proponent of this review, have argued at the WTO, that IP underpins the most important and urgent challenges of our times including issues relating to health, climate, technology, among others. In a bid to enliven the policy agenda at the TRIPS Council, that has been described as anaemic, Colombia brought its proposal for a review in April 2024. The provision for such a review is articulated under Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.

At a meeting on the TRIPS Council at the WTO this week, countries discussed the matter. It is learned that informal consultations are set to continue in the coming months, till the next meeting on the TRIPS Council in November 2024. There has been significant push back from the US, EU, Switzerland, among other developed countries against such a proposal.

This story tries to unpack some of these closed-door discussions. We spoke to trade diplomats at the WTO this week in Geneva.

Image Credit: Photo by Will Mu, Pexels