By Alithea De Jesus
As many developing countries continue to face challenges in the availability of vaccines in their country, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez, together with fellow Trade Ministers, called for urgent collective action at the global level to enhance access to vaccines and critical, life-saving goods at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) virtual Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting held on 5 June 2021. New Zealand chairs APEC this year with the theme, “Join, Work, Grow. Together.”
At the meeting, Sec. Lopez stressed that achieving herd immunity remains to be one of the Philippines’ top priorities. He said, “If there is one urgent matter that APEC can address, it is broadening the reach and access of vaccines for humanity.”
The trade chief also welcomed discussions happening at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to aid global production of vaccines and called for an open approach to democratize the manufacture and distribution of vaccines through technology transfer, compulsory licensing, and time-bound licensing of intellectual property rights. The MRT meeting was attended by Ministers from countries that are responsible for majority of the world’s COVID-19 vaccine production.
Sec. Lopez pointed out that the enormous production capacity of Asia and Latin America remains untapped.
“Governments, private sector, and research institutions must work together to stimulate broader vaccine production and unhampered distribution of quality and affordable vaccines and essential goods,” he explained.
Meanwhile, on trade reforms, Sec. Lopez announced that the Philippines has established its trade facilitation committee in compliance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement to reduce the cost of trade transactions and improve international trade.
To contribute to a successful 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, the trade chief also underscored the importance of safeguarding and modernizing the WTO through reforms to improve its dispute settlement and negotiating functions. He said, “APEC should ensure that the WTO dispute settlement process remains relevant and fully functional.”
APEC has a long history of providing leadership in WTO issues especially in the next-generation trade issues such e-commerce, women’s economic empowerment, investment facilitation, and services. In particular, the Philippines championed the integration of MSMEs in trade, which has led to the creation of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs at the WTO, currently made up of 91 member countries.
APEC Trade Ministers successfully concluded the meeting by issuing a statement on APEC’s strong commitment to bolster actions in tackling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and in enabling a strong economic recovery for all people. The Trade Ministers also welcomed two outcome documents: (1) Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Chains and (2) Statement on Services to Support the Movement of Essential Goods.