   
  
WT/GC/230  
 
9 March 2021  
(21-1991) Page: 1/2 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  IN THE GLOBAL  
EFFORT TOWARD THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF  
COVID -19 VACCINES AND OTHER MEDICAL PRODUCTS  
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA, CANADA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, NEW ZEALAND,  
NORWAY  AND TURKEY  
The following communication, dated 9 March 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation s of Australia, Canad a, Chile, Colombia, New Zealand,  Norway  and Turkey . 
 
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1.1.  There is an urgent need to further enhance the inte rnational effort to promote the rapid, global 
and equitable distribution of affordable, safe and effective COVID -19-related medical products, and 
vaccines in particular, with a view to limiting the impact of the pandemic on people, economies and 
societies,  and to help foster a rapid, inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery. The co -sponsors 
of this communication believe that the scaling up of vaccine production must be a fundamental 
priority, as no one is safe until everyone is safe. The co -sponsors of  this communication recognize 
the significant contributions of multilateral cooperation and innovative approaches such as the 
Access to COVID -19 Tools Accelerator and the COVAX Facility, and believe that the WTO can similarly 
contribute to these global eff orts in a complementary fashion.  
1.2.  In these exceptional times that require a strong and purposeful multilateral response to end 
the pandemic, the co -sponsors of this communication believe that the WTO, as the global hub for 
trade, and particularly in a pande mic where the relevance of trade for lives and livelihoods has 
become even more evident, possesses considerable convening power. We further believe that the 
WTO should rapidly make use of its resources to the full extent to foster a prompt, pragmatic and 
tangible acceleration in the global response to COVID -19, and particularly the global distribution of 
COVID -19 vaccines. We believe that the WTO, and particularly its Secretariat, can and should 
undertake this work in parallel to ongoing discussions among M embers on the trade -related aspects 
of the COVID -19 response, and without prejudice to these discussions.  
1.3.  The co -sponsors of this communication therefore earnestly encourage the Director -General to 
promptly convene and hold discussions with both vaccine de velopers and vaccine manufacturers, as 
well as developers and manufacturers of other COVID -19-related medical products, in coordination 
with the World Health Organization and other relevant organizations, toward:  
- helping to ensure that any unused or underu tilized capacity for the production of 
affordable, safe and effective vaccines, at any stage in the process, is promptly identified 
and used as fully as it is technically possible, with a view to a net increase in global 
production of COVID -19 vaccines, an d provided that this is not to the detriment of the 
production of other essential vaccines;  
- promptly facilitating and promoting the creation of mutually beneficial licensing 
partnerships between vaccine developers and vaccine manufacturers, including for t he 
collaborative and prompt transfer of expertise, know -how and technology;  
- promptly identifying and addressing, in a consensus -based manner, any trade -related 
impediments to the utilization of production capacity and the scaling up of vaccine 
production, as well as to the production and distribution of other COVID -19-related medical WT/GC/230  
 
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  products, recalling the right of WTO Members to use, to the full, the provisions in the 
TRIPS Agreement, which provide flexibility to protect public health and, in particular, to 
promote access to medicines for all; and  
- promoting, through similar approaches, the broad availability of other essential COVID -
19-related medical products, such as diagnostics, therapeutics, equipment and devices.  
1.4.  The co -sponsors of this communication further encourage the Director -General to pr ovide 
Members with regular updates, as appropriate, on any such discussions.  
 
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