India urged members of the WTO to reach a consensus on the proposal for the TRIPS exemption

India has urged members of the World Trade Organization to reach a consensus on the proposal for amnesty of certain provisions in a multilateral agreement on intellectual property to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, stating that when millions of people suffer from the pandemic If lost, you cannot remain in endless discussions. .

India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Brajendra Navneet, said at the General Council meeting on 1 March that concerted efforts are needed by all members to ensure that the WTO makes a meaningful contribution to defeat COVID . -19 and proves that it can actually land a crisis.

In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a resolution suggesting an exemption for all WTO members on the implementation, application and enforcement of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement regarding the prevention, prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

The agreement on intellectual property rights or trade-related aspects of TRIPS came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral agreement on the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyrights, industrial design, patents and undisclosed information or trade secrets.

He stated that the proposers of the proposal are ready to engage in good faith and have clearly discussed the text of the exemption, relating to both its duration and scope, to conduct the exemption in the shortest possible time.

“We request members to reach a consensus on the proposal for increased production to ensure fair, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 products in a timely manner,” he said.

Citing a study, he said that it is estimated that the global economy stands to lose as much as $ 9.2 trillion if the international community fails to ensure a developing economy for COVID-19 vaccines.

Mr. Navneet said that three months after the emergence of successful vaccines, the global vaccination scenario is still grim.

The United Nations Secretary-General noted in his recent press briefing that progress on vaccination is wildly uneven and unfair, and more than 130 countries have not taken a single dose. “If the current global manufacturing capacity can be used for large-scale manufacturing by providing manufacturers with legal certainty for the use of IP related to COVID, which is the main objective of the exemption, then the fight to win over the humanity virus Can accelerate, “said.

He said that a result on the rebate would not only help save valuable human lives, but would give a comfortable signal to boost consumer confidence in the economy and accelerate the recovery of world trade and global GDP.