The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the highest-level decision-making body, assessed access to essential medical products in the event of a pandemic, the possibility of reaching a global agreement to ban harmful subsidies for fisheries, and the concerns of least developed countries.
In order to seek consensus in the run-up to the Ministerial Conference, the General Council met on 5 and 6 May 2021, according to the communication.
The meeting examined a proposal for a General Council Declaration on “Trade and Health: COVID-19 and Beyond” The text was supported by 20 delegations, according to the WTO. The text refers to concrete actions to facilitate trade in essential medical products and improve the capacity of the trading system to deal with a public health emergency. Members saw the value of this initiative; however, some delegations questioned its scope, as there is no mention of the movement of health professionals.
Another issue raised was a request from a group from Latin America and the Caribbean (Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama and Paraguay) for the immediate elimination of all export barriers and restrictions that block equal access to COVID-19 vaccinesThere was also a need to open a debate on trade facilitation measures, including customs and logistics, specifically related to access to vaccines, proper notification, uniformity of standards and easier movement of health professionals.
In this regard, the President of the General Council, Ambassador Dacio Castillo of Honduras, stressed that issues related to recovery from the health crisis are of utmost importance, particularly before the XII Ministerial Conference.
The meeting also considered a project presented by the group from least developed countries (LDCs) of the WTO in December 2020, which establishes a transitional mechanism for members that exceed the United Nations graduation thresholds and are no longer classified as LDCs. The initiative aims to maintain the trade-related economic progress achieved by LDCs, as well as to increase their participation in the multilateral trading system.
In terms of fishery, all WTO members who took the floor committed to achieving a positive outcome on fisheries subsidies no later than the Ministerial Meeting.
In addition, they continued to debate about e-commerce and the moratorium of customs duties on electronic transmissions until the Ministerial Summit. On this key issue, the President of the General Council will communicate with delegations to inform them of the launch of “structured discussions” in order to better understand the scope, definition and impact of the moratorium.
It is worth mentioning that the The General Council has the power to act on behalf of the Ministerial Conference scheduled from November 30 to December 3, 2021, in Geneva.
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