 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) |
The 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization took place in Geneva from June 12 to June 19. It was the first meeting of the WTO in 4 years and was a test of the organization’s ability to reach a multilateral agreement despite growing geopolitical tensions around the world.
Agreements on several urgent issues
The WTO reached an agreement on emergency responses to food insecurity, waiving restrictions on exports, responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparation for future pandemics, protection of intellectual property rights, fishing subsidies, and mitigation of climate change.
The fishing issue was one of the major issues of the conference. According to the WTO, countries spend more than 35 billion USD each year to subsidize fishing activities which enables fishing fleet to operate longer and farther out at sea which is harmful to marine creatures. Most governments agreed on the importance of protecting fish reserves, an important natural resource essential to millions of people in coastal areas. The WTO has struggled to deal with this problem for 20 years. Negotiations on the problem have been deadlocked because the countries that fish the most are poor, developing countries.
After difficult negotiations, WTO members reached an agreement that prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, but gives developing countries 2 years to end subsidies for fishing in their exclusive economic zone.
The issue of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines has split the WTO for the last two years due to strong protests from countries with big pharmaceutical companies like the UK and Switzerland. They say waiving patent certificates would paralyze investment and reform activities and is no longer necessary because the world now has an abundance of vaccines. Responding to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID pandemic and to requests from developing countries, Ministers agreed to waive certain procedural obligations under the TRIPS Agreement to allow the quick manufacture and export of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the patent owner. The agreement maintains a functioning intellectual property framework with incentives for investment, research and transfer of technology.
Highlights of WTO reform
Since the WTO was founded in 1995, global trade has doubled and the average global tariff has decreased to 9%, while billions of people have escaped poverty thanks to increased global trade. But the last 5 years have been the most difficult period for the WTO in its 27-year history. The COVID-19 pandemic’s widespread lockdowns made global trade decline sharply. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has disrupted the global food supply.
Major global fluctuations in politics, security, economics, and trade have posed several challenges to the WTO. The US and China are the most influential members of the WTO but their trade conflict has become so serious and complicated that it goes beyond the WTO’s ability to resolve.
The outcomes of the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva demonstrate the role, influence, and position of the WTO in trade liberalization and globalization.
For 9 years, the World Trade Organization failed to reach any multilateral trade agreement. The package it approved last week is of historic significance.