Ogozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said on Monday (16.06.2021) that trade barriers linked to medical supplies used against Covid-19 have increased and urged member states to remove them, as part of efforts to reach an agreement on a better distribution of vaccines.
"The trend is going in the wrong direction," the WTO director-general said at a virtual UN forum, referring to barriers to trade in goods related to the pandemic.
"We need to ease those restrictions so we can move (…) goods and medical supplies and vaccines (faster)."
Okonjo-Iweala said the number of business restrictions was 109 at the start of the pandemic early last year, which was later reduced to 51, but has since increased again to 53.
At the same event, Okonjo-Iweala called on WTO members to reach an agreement in July on improving access to Covid-19 vaccines, after months of talks on waiving intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical companies.
Most developing countries support the waiver, but several rich countries remain staunchly opposed, saying the move will deter research that allowed Covid-19 vaccines to be produced so quickly.
“It will be difficult because there are still differences. But we hope to be able to come to a pragmatic approach,” Okonjo-Iweala said. “I am in a hurry and I want us to reach an agreement by July because lives matter.”
Source: Reuters
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