GENEVA: The World Trade Organization’s 164 members on Friday agreed to the first change in global trading rules in years, which include ‘unprecedented’ commitments on fish and pledges on health and food security after more than five gruelling days of negotiations.

The deals were forged 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 ability of nations to strike multilateral trade deals amid geopolitical tensions heightened by the Ukraine war.

Delegates, who had expected a four-day conference, cheered after they passed seven agreements and declarations just before dawn on Friday.

The package, which the WTO chief called “unprecedented”, included the two highest profile deals under consideration — on fisheries and on a partial waiver of intellectual pro­­perty (IP) rights for Covid-19 vaccines.

Developing countries will be allowed to authorise the use of a patent for production and supply without the patent holder’s consent for five years, subject to a possible extension. The production need not be predominantly for the domestic market, meaning more exports are allowed to ensure equitable access.

The global body also sought to respond to a food supply and price hike crisis exacerbated by export disruptions from major cereal producers Ukraine and Russia.

India and South Africa and other developing countries have sought a waiver of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for over a year, but faced opposition from several developed nations with major pharmaceutical producers.

WTO members agreed in a declaration that they would take concrete steps to facilitate trade of food and agriculture, including cereals, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs, and reaffirmed the importance of limiting export restrictions. Members also agreed to a binding decision not to curb exports to the World Food Programme.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2022