 
“Failure to meet the deadlines in these negotiations has been quite
disappointing. These two issues are of great importance not only to
developing countries but to the organization itself and to the broader
trade negotiations that are part of the Doha Development Agenda,” Dr
Supachai said.
“Nonetheless,
delegates have informed me of their commitment to continue to work to
find agreement in these complex and difficult negotiations. I am
hopeful a solution can be found in the early part of 2003. I call
on governments to summon the political will and commitment that will
be required to bridge their differences on these two issues,” he
added.
Ambassador
Ransford Smith of Jamaica who chairs the Special Session of the
Committee on Trade and Development in which the issue of special and
differential treatment was discussed, told the WTO’s governing
General Council that governments needed more time to finalize these
negotiations. General Council Chairman Sergio Marchi of Canada invited
Amb. Smith to report back to the Council at its next meeting which is
scheduled for 10–11 February 2003.
Ambassador
Eduardo Pérez Motta of Mexico who chairs the Council for
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) told the
General Council that intensive consultations had not resolved
differences over the diseases that would be covered by the draft
decision on intellectual property and health.
He
proposed that the TRIPS Council should restart its deliberations as
soon as possible in the new year with the aim of reaching an agreement
by the first meeting of the General Council in 2003, scheduled
for 10–11 February.
WTO
members have been trying to meet a year-end deadline aimed at
addressing a problem posed by a provision of the WTO’s intellectual
property agreement (Article 31(f) of the Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPS).
This
says that production under compulsory licensing must be predominantly
for the domestic market, which hinders countries lacking manufacturing
capacity from importing cheaper generics from countries where
pharmaceuticals are patented.
Agreement
on this would complete the mandate set by the WTO Ministerial
Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, when a special
ministerial declaration on TRIPS and Public Health was issued.
For
more information:
Work
on special and differential treatment provisions
The
Doha Declaration explained
The Doha
Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health
TRIPS and
pharmaceutical patents
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