The World Trade Organization on Friday agreed on an “unprecedented” package of trade deals related to health, reform and food security, after disagreements between the countries on key issues. forced the trade body to extend the negotiations by two days.
The agreement comes after WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had earlier urged countries to compromise, after negotiations failed to reach agreement on ending fishing subsidies that harm the environment and completely relinquish patents for COVID-19 treatments.
Okonjo-Iweala said: “The package of deals you’ve reached will make a difference in the lives of people around the world. “The results demonstrate that the WTO is in fact capable of responding to the emergencies of our time.”
The talks involving more than 100 trade ministers are seen as an important test of the trade body’s ability to implement multilateral trade deals at a time of geopolitical tensions. added value is increasing protectionism and economic division.
According to the package, members have agreed to relax Protecting intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines and limit, not eliminate, subsidize illegal fishing for at least the next four years. The relief agreements on two of the most contentious areas of the WTO purge have drawn mixed reactions, with some campaigners arguing the agreements are not going enough. distant.
“This agreement generally does not provide an effective and meaningful solution to help increase people’s access to essential health tools during the pandemic because it does not relinquish ownership. wisdom for all the essential COVID-19 health tools and it doesn’t apply to all countries,” said Christos Christou, international president of Doctors Without Borders.
On Thursday, WTO members reached an interim agreement on maintaining the moratorium on e-commerce tariffs until the next ministerial meeting, scheduled for next year. The prospect of ending the ban, which would pave the way for tariffs on digital goods and services, is a key concern for businesses.
Deborah Elms, founder and chief executive officer of the Asian Trade Center, described the extension of the e-commerce tax ban as “great news” but said the overall results appeared to be a package. “avoid failure but also do not represent resounding success”.
Elms said the WTO’s failure to reach consensus on measures such as phasing out subsidies for illegal fishing showed the need for reform of the trade body.
“After two decades, they cannot stop subsidizing illegal fishing. Think about it: this is basically to prevent subsidies from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” Elms told Al Jazeera, emphasizing that she Haven’t seen the final package yet.
“By definition, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing doesn’t happen at all. We do not discuss such stopping of IUU fishing. No, it’s about providing subsidies to support those activities. This is a horrifying failure to do what should have been a simple act to save the future planet. “
In a letter outlining drafts of trade agreements on Friday, Okonjo-Iweala asked members to consider the “fragile balance” reached during five days of near-day negotiations. The night is marked by expressions of anger and frustration.
“The essence of compromise is that no one gets everything they want,” the letter read. “Let us finish our work tonight so we can honor those waiting for the WTO to settle.”
Under WTO rules, all 164 members must reach consensus on any proposal, and an impasse on one topic can derail other discussions. The WTO on Wednesday extended negotiations in the hope of reaching agreement on key issues following objections from members including India and Indonesia.
Julien Chaisse, an expert on international trade at the City University of Hong Kong, said the agreement represented a “great dawn” for international trade and multilateralism “despite all fears and threats. And challenge”.
Chaisse told Al Jazeera: “There are many doubts surrounding this ministerial conference but the past few days have shown a growing consensus on issues of these systemic importance.
“I think the pressure is huge on this as the WTO has been under enormous pressure from developing countries and NGOs since 2020 to accept the renunciation of property rights,” said Chaisse. intellectual property. “And, the COVID pandemic isn’t over yet.”
