The World Trade Organization (WTO) reached an agreement on the first change to global trade rules in years on Friday, as well as an agreement to increase the supply of vaccines against Covid-19 in a series of pledges. who were very committed.
The deals were struck in the early hours of the sixth day of a conference of more than 100 trade ministers that was seen as a test of the countries’ ability to strike multilateral trade deals amid geopolitical tensions exacerbated by the Ukraine war.
Delegates, who had expected a four-day conference, celebrated after passing seven agreements and declarations just before dawn on Friday.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told them: “The package of agreements you have reached will make a difference in the lives of people around the world. The results demonstrate that the WTO is indeed capable of responding to the emergencies of our time. .”
Earlier, she had urged WTO members to consider the “delicate balance” needed after nearly non-stop talks that were at times marred by anger and accusations.
The package, which the WTO chief called “unprecedented”, includes the two most important agreements under consideration – on fisheries and on a partial waiver of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines.
The agreement to reduce fisheries subsidies is only the second multilateral agreement to set new global trade rules in the WTO’s 27-year history, and it is far more ambitious than the first, which was designed to cut red tape.
WTO rules dictate that all decisions be taken by consensus, with any member having a veto.
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