The Waiver of the TRIPS Agreement for COVID-19 at the WTO: A Rhetorical Analysis

Abstract

This article presents a rhetorical analysis of the discussions and debates at the WTO’s TRIPS Council regarding the request submitted by India and South Africa for a waiver of certain obligations under the TRIPS Agreement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the engagement in ‘rhetorical action’ by both sides of the COVID-19 waiver proposal debate, the article explores whether the discussions, debates, and negotiations at the TRIPS Council regarding the proposed waiver is likely to produce any useful solution. The article is structured into three main sections. Section 1 presents a brief overview of the role of the TRIPS Council in international intellectual property law. Section 2 examines both the waiver proposal by India and South Africa on the one hand and the counter-proposal by the EU on the other hand. Section 3 contains a rhetorical analysis of the discussions and debates surrounding the waiver proposal at the TRIPS Council.

[Forthcoming in Volume 12 of the Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law]

Keywords: COVID-19, TRIPS Agreement, Waiver, India, South Africa, Vaccines, EU, USA