WTO adopts Ministerial Declaration "Food Security and Partial Abandonment of Intellectual Property Rights of Corona Vaccine"

On June 17th (local time), the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on an agreement on food security, a partial waiver of corona vaccine intellectual property rights, and a ban on subsidies for illegal fishing.

According to Reuters, WTO members passed six draft agreements on food security and health after negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, on the same day.

The trade agreement also includes the provision of partial abandonment of the intellectual property rights of the corona vaccine in developing countries such as Africa and the regulation of subsidies for illegal fishing to protect fishery resources.

It was a difficult problem to reach an agreement because the positions of both projects were different. Agreements on the intellectual property rights of vaccines, which allow developing countries to produce and export vaccines, have been in conflict within the WTO for almost two years, Reuters reported. The agreement to limit subsidies for illegal fishing is a step further than before and is expected to help reduce global overfishing.

"The series of agreements you have reached will change the lives of people around the world," said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. "The results show that the WTO can actually respond to the emergencies of the times."