Intellectual Property and the Politics of Public Good during COVID-19: Framing Law, Institutions, and Ideas during TRIPS Waiver Negotiations at the WTO.
In: Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Jg. 49 (2024-02-01), Heft 1, S. 9-42
academicJournal
Zugriff:
Context: To facilitate the manufacturing of COVID-19 medical products, in October 2020 India and South Africa proposed a waiver of certain intellectual property (IP) provisions of a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement. After nearly two years, a narrow waiver agreement that did little for vaccine access passed the ministerial despite the pandemic's impact on global trade, which the WTO is mandated to safeguard. Methods: The authors conducted a content analysis of WTO legal texts, key-actor statements, media reporting, and the WTO's procedural framework to explore legal, institutional, and ideational explanations for the delay. Findings: IP waivers are neither legally complex nor unprecedented within WTO law, yet these waiver negotiations exceeded their mandated 90-day negotiation period by approximately 18 months. Waiver opponents and supporters engaged in escalating strategic framing that justified and eventually secured political attention at head-of-state level, sidelining other pandemic solutions. The frames deployed discouraged consensus on a meaningful waiver, which ultimately favored the status quo that opponents preferred. WTO institutional design encouraged drawn-out negotiation while limiting legitimate players in the debate to trade ministers, empowering narrow interest group politics. Conclusions: Despite global political attention, the WTO process contributed little to emergency vaccine production, suggesting a pressing need for reforms aimed at more efficient and equitable multilateral processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Titel: |
Intellectual Property and the Politics of Public Good during COVID-19: Framing Law, Institutions, and Ideas during TRIPS Waiver Negotiations at the WTO.
|
---|---|
Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Fischer, Sara E. ; Vitale, Lucia ; Agutu, Akinyi Lisa ; Kavanagh, Matthew M. |
Zeitschrift: | Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, Jg. 49 (2024-02-01), Heft 1, S. 9-42 |
Veröffentlichung: | 2024 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
ISSN: | 0361-6878 (print) |
DOI: | 10.1215/03616878-10910269 |
Schlagwort: |
|
Sonstiges: |
|