BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has submitted to the World Trade Organization a plan it believes will more effectively broaden supply of COVID-19 vaccines than the intellectual property (IP) rights waiver backed by the United States.
India, South Africa and dozens of developing countries are demanding an IP rights waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments to address what they say is a “staggering inequity” in access to what they argue should be global public goods.
The European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation EU, said on Friday it had submitted an alternative, stressing limits on export restrictions and existing WTO rules allowing countries to grant licences to producers.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)
