Monday, April 26, 2021
WTO appeals to governments
USA should release vaccine for export
The industrialized nations are busy vaccinating, developing countries look down the drain. While the EU and China also supply poorer countries with vaccines, the USA and Great Britain are imposing export blockades. The World Trade Organization doesn’t like that at all.
During the Corona crisis, the World Trade Organization WTO appealed to the USA and Great Britain to also release vaccines for export. WTO boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also thanked the EU at an online event for the fact that the European Union, China and India had exported vaccines produced on their territory on a large scale. “I call on the states that do not yet share or export them to do so as soon as possible,” she added.
From their point of view, it would be “great” if the USA and Great Britain were to get involved. It is unacceptable that the lion’s share of the doses are vaccinated in the industrialized countries, while only a fraction of the serums arrive in the poorest countries. “Vaccination nationalism and inequality do not work,” warned the Nigerian, who has headed the WTO since February after a long leadership vacuum.
The WTO has 164 member countries and is supposed to establish rules for global trade and settle disputes. But the organization is divided and has not reached any globally binding agreements in recent years, for example on digital trade. Former US President Donald Trump blocked the appointment of important judges at the WTO Court of Appeal. Many members are calling for a reform of the WTO.
Okonjo-Iweala said 2021 will be a “turning point” in terms of reforms. The organization must now prove that it can implement this. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stressed that the EU is ready to assist the WTO in reform. It is also about adapting the rules to the 21st century. The WTO is still needed. It is about developing rules that benefit everyone, and not about the principle “As you do me, so I rule you” in disputes.
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