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Parliament’s Committee on Trade debated on Thursday how to increase vaccine production effectively with WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
In reply to trade committee MEPs’ questions over what measures are needed to accelerate equitable access to vaccines, Dr Okonjo-Iweala argued in favour of expanding vaccine production and ending export restrictions.
She said: “Getting the Intellectual Property rights waiver for vaccines will not be enough”. She listed three other routes: reducing export restrictions and reinforcing supply chains for vaccines, working with manufacturers to expand production, including in emerging countries with idle capacity such as Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand or Bangladesh, and transferring the necessary technology and expertise to produce the complicated vaccines.
5 hours ago
Parliament’s Committee on Trade debated on Thursday how to increase vaccine production effectively with WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
In reply to trade committee MEPs’ questions over what measures are needed to accelerate equitable access to vaccines, Dr Okonjo-Iweala argued in favour of expanding vaccine production and ending export restrictions.
She said: “Getting the Intellectual Property rights waiver for vaccines will not be enough”. She listed three other routes: reducing export restrictions and reinforcing supply chains for vaccines, working with manufacturers to expand production, including in emerging countries with idle capacity such as Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand or Bangladesh, and transferring the necessary technology and expertise to produce the complicated vaccines.
Xinjiang - sanctions on China for human rights abuses
The EU and China approved the pact in December 2020, after seven years of negotiations. Proponents of the pact say it would help open China s economy to European companies, and help balance market access.
The deal was pushed through with the heavy backing of Germany, which was the largest EU exporter of goods to China in 2020.
On the sidelines of an EU trade ministers meeting on Thursday, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier expressed his support for keeping the pact alive.
China is the European Union s largest trading partner and the United States largest trading partner, and thus plays an important role in the global economy, CDU politician Altmaier said. We want to reach results with China that are in the interest of both sides.