WTO Pharma Agreement and Access to Medical Technologies
Leonardo Correia Lima Macedo
Counsellor, CARF (Administrative Tax and Customs Court) | PhD Int Trade Law | Lecturer Trade Law, Customs and Cross Border Trade | WCO Expert and Former Technical Officer | Former Tax and Customs Attaché
In this #Customs #trade #coronavirus post, I would like to call attention to two topics: a) WTO Pharma Agreement; and b) WTO/WIPO/WHO Publication on Medical Technologies.
a) WTO Pharma Agreement
The first topic is the existence of the WTO Plurilateral Sectoral Pharmaceutical Agreement, the “Pharma Agreement” (GATT document L/7430).
The Pharma Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round. Signatories to the WTO Pharma Agreement are Canada, the European Union and its 28 Member States, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the United States, and Macao (China).
According to #tradenerd Roy Santana:
“A key component of the agreement was the lists of active ingredients which had been assigned an International Nonproprietary Name (INN) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Participants' schedules of concessions include special sections with hundreds of pages reflecting these specialized commitments and have, over the years, included four reviews, which added new products to the Pharma.”
Regarding the HS codes and goods description in the Pharma Agreement, please check Annex 5 of the WTO document TN/MA/S/13 (reproduced in Annex 15 – Sectorial Initiatives) which provides, an indicative list, of the goods coverage.
Though the list may not be entirely accurate/updated, it provides a basis to consider in the current coronavirus pandemic crises. For instance, one of my considerations about the list is the need for all to reflect on adding medical vehicles, medical furniture and other not so apparent goods to the #coronavirus list. The other concern is why so few countries have negotiated this plurilateral sectoral agreement?
As for an updated HS codes list, please check the new #WCO "HS classification reference for Covid-19 medical supplies".
b) WTO/WIPO/WHO Publication on Medical Technologies
The second topic is the need to read the WTO/WIPO/WHO publication "Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation".
The publication lays a general panorama of the policy landscape in international trade for health policy relating to medical technologies. It outlines insights of economics for medical technology innovation and access, reviews the policies issues, looks at innovation management (influenza vaccines), and discusses access related to IP challenges.
In brief, it is worth reading it, particularly now that countries must make decisions for vaccines, medical technology and others related to the coronavirus.