It'll be the first time in over four years they’ll meet after the November conference was postponed over Swiss travel restrictions
23 February 2022 - 20:21
byStephanie Nebehay
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The World Trade Organisation offices in Geneva, Switzerland. Picture: DENIS BALIBOUSE/ REUTERS
Geneva — Trade ministers are now due to convene for the first time in more than four years in June, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday, announcing the latest dates for a meeting that aims to break deadlocks on issues from fishing subsidies to intellectual property rights for vaccines.
In late November, the WTO was forced to postpone the conference after Swiss travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant meant many planned face-to-face meetings could not take place.
“WTO members agreed, during (Wednesday’s) General Council meeting, to reconvene the 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva during the week of June 13,” the Geneva-based trade watchdog said in a brief statement.
The talks have been widely seen as a test of the WTO’s relevance.
The WTO has only managed one update of its global rules in its nearly 27-year history, the red tape-cutting Trade Facilitation Agreement, and its 164 members have looked far from agreement in its most active talks — on curbing fishing subsidies and spreading Covid-19 vaccines more widely.
India, SA and other developing countries are calling for a waiver of intellectual property rights for vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments to make them more available in poorer countries. US President Joe Biden has said he supports a waiver for vaccines.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
WTO says trade ministers to convene in June
It'll be the first time in over four years they’ll meet after the November conference was postponed over Swiss travel restrictions
Geneva — Trade ministers are now due to convene for the first time in more than four years in June, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday, announcing the latest dates for a meeting that aims to break deadlocks on issues from fishing subsidies to intellectual property rights for vaccines.
In late November, the WTO was forced to postpone the conference after Swiss travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant meant many planned face-to-face meetings could not take place.
“WTO members agreed, during (Wednesday’s) General Council meeting, to reconvene the 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva during the week of June 13,” the Geneva-based trade watchdog said in a brief statement.
The talks have been widely seen as a test of the WTO’s relevance.
The WTO has only managed one update of its global rules in its nearly 27-year history, the red tape-cutting Trade Facilitation Agreement, and its 164 members have looked far from agreement in its most active talks — on curbing fishing subsidies and spreading Covid-19 vaccines more widely.
India, SA and other developing countries are calling for a waiver of intellectual property rights for vaccines and other Covid-19 treatments to make them more available in poorer countries. US President Joe Biden has said he supports a waiver for vaccines.
Reuters
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