Even after U.S. shift, opponents resist COVID-19 vaccine patent waiver

According to sources close to the talks, a deal on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) was no closer to acceptance on Monday despite backing from the US, due to expected scepticism about a new draft, as reported by Yahoo News. 

Negotiations at the WTO meeting focused on a revised draft submitted by India, South Africa and other developing countries last week.

A Geneva trade official said the proposal to start text-based discussions "gained traction" on Monday. Around 10 countries, including South Korea and the UK, expressed doubts and asked for more time to study the proposal, while three sources close to the talks see problems with the text.

Two aspects of the waiver draft that may harden opposition are its scope and duration, the news source reported. The new draft includes diagnostics, therapeutics and medical devices, among others. "When you have a big bomb like the US saying we will support the waiver, people were expecting the revised proposal would narrow the scope," a Geneva-based trade source said.

Meanwhile, the draft also sets a time span for a waiver seen as temporary of "at least three years,” allowing WTO's members to determine when it ends. Given they would need to do this by consensus, one country could prolong it.

According to a European Union diplomat, the revised text would "likely call the US bluff". The EU will present an alternative plan for boosting production and availability of coronavirus vaccines to the WTO in early June.