Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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181. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to ensure that Covid-19 vaccine trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights waiver is addressed through the WTO TRIPS Agreement.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26396/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Universal and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is crucial in the global fight against COVID-19.

As you are aware, International Trade is a competence of the EU under the Treaties. In exercising that competence at the WTO, the European Commission engages with Member States, including Ireland, through a variety of Committee and Working Parties/Groups, including on intellectual property.

The announcement by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai regarding the U.S. Government’s support for a waiver of IP protections for COVID-19 vaccines, is significant. However, the statement acknowledged that reaching agreement on this at the WTO will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.

The President of the EU Commission has responded to the U.S. announcement by indicating its readiness to discuss the U.S. proposal at the WTO. Ireland will engage with the European Commission and other member states on the EU position for the WTO discussions including discussions on how the U.S. proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines can help to resolve the crisis.

The EU continues to be committed to an open and comprehensive dialogue with all WTO members to explore how the multilateral rules-based trading system can best support universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments in order to achieve the shared goal of providing timely and secure access to safe and affordable vaccines and medicines for all. There are existing flexibilities in the TRIPS agreement that allows for compulsory licensing which is when a government permits an entity to produce the patented product or process without the consent of the patent owner. Compulsory licenses can cover exports to all countries that lack a manufacturing capability.

The President of the EU Commission has also identified three other areas which should be pursued to support the global vaccination effort in the short term. Firstly, the issue of exports needs to be addressed to tackle bottlenecks and the lack of vaccines worldwide. The EU has already exported 50% of all vaccines that it has produced. Secondly, the President of the Commission pointed to the COVAX Facility, the international initiative to ensure global supply and access to COVID vaccines, as the mechanism that is best placed to ensure that high-income countries finance the vaccines and support the developing countries to secure their share of global supply. Thirdly, the area of investment in global manufacturing capacity is key, and the EU Commission is supporting a number of initiatives to achieve this.