Global trade
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, exile Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the holding of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in Dharmsala, India. A global trade union body has joined a long list human-rights advocates in challenging the propriety of China holding the 2022 Winter Olympics, and has singled out the International Olympic Committee for acquiescing in the face of alleged genocide and crimes against humanity reportedly taking place China. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)
Beijing Olympics get 'gold for repression' in labor report

By Stephen Wade Nov. 09, 2021 12:16 AM EST

U.S. President Joe Biden takes off his protective facemask prior to speaking with the media during arrival for the EU-US summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
The Latest: Pro-Navalny protest in Geneva on eve of summit

By The Associated Press Jun. 15, 2021 10:19 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 file photo, frozen vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are taken out to thaw, at the MontLegia CHC hospital in Liege, Belgium. Envoys from World Trade Organization member nations are taking up a proposal to ease patents and other intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines to help developing countries fight the pandemic, an idea backed by the Biden administration but opposed in other wealthy countries with strong pharmaceutical industries. On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel opening Tuesday June 8, 2021, is a revised proposal presented by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on coronavirus vaccines. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
WTO to intensify talks on easing access to COVID-19 vaccines

By Jamey Keaten Jun. 09, 2021 08:54 AM EDT

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the Perth US Asia Centre in Perth, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The World Trade Organization should penalize "bad behavior when it occurs," Morrison said ahead of a Group of Seven leaders' meeting in Britain where he hopes to garner international support in a trade dispute with China. (Stefan Gosatti/AAP Image via AP)
Australia says WTO should punish Chinese economic coercion

By Rod Mcguirk Jun. 09, 2021 06:11 AM EDT

Cemetery and funeral workers place the coffin of a man who died of COVID-19 into a niche at the Nuestra Señora de Belen cemetery in Fusagasuga, Colombia, Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
The Latest: Pot-for-shots plan stumbles in Washington state

By The Associated Press Jun. 09, 2021 01:58 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 file photo, frozen vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are taken out to thaw, at the MontLegia CHC hospital in Liege, Belgium. Envoys from World Trade Organization member nations are taking up a proposal to ease patents and other intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines to help developing countries fight the pandemic, an idea backed by the Biden administration but opposed in other wealthy countries with strong pharmaceutical industries. On the table for a two-day meeting of a WTO panel opening Tuesday June 8, 2021, is a revised proposal presented by India and South Africa for a temporary IP waiver on coronavirus vaccines. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
WTO panel considers easing protections on COVID-19 vaccines

By Jamey Keaten Jun. 08, 2021 05:39 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 3, 2020, file photo, containers are loaded onto a ship for export at Lyttelton Port near Christchurch, New Zealand. Trade ministers from the Pacific rim were discussing ways to build back better from the pandemic in an online meeting Saturday, June 5, 2021, hosted by New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
Asia-Pacific trade ministers mull vaccine access, supply

By Elaine Kurtenbach Jun. 05, 2021 03:42 AM EDT

The Italian and the EU flags are displayed outside Villa Pamphili as Italian Premier Mario Draghi and EU Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen arrive on the occasion of the Global Health Summit in Rome, Friday, May 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Vaccine makers pledge 2.3B doses to less wealthy nations

May. 21, 2021 11:16 AM EDT

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, talks to France's Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester during a European Foreign Trade ministers meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool)
WTO chief calls for diversification of vaccine production

By Raf Casert May. 20, 2021 10:40 AM EDT

Kevin Fisher, of Quincy, Mass., left, receives his second shot of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from RN Katherine Francisco, of Avon, Mass., right, at a mass vaccination clinic, Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Mass. A month after every adult in the U.S. became eligible for the vaccine, a distinct geographic pattern has emerged: The highest vaccination rates are concentrated in the Northeast, while the lowest ones are mostly in the South. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
The Latest: Flight repatriates stranded Spaniards from Nepal

By The Associated Press May. 20, 2021 04:00 AM EDT

Tronco, or multiple foot stocks used to to constrain enslaved people, are seen at the Slavery exhibition Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, May 17, 2021. The stark contrast between finery and brutality, wealth and inhumanity is a recurring pattern at the museum's unflinching new exhibition titled, simply, "Slavery", that examines the history of Dutch involvement in the international slave trade. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
New Dutch exhibition takes unflinching look at slavery

By Mike Corder May. 18, 2021 05:58 AM EDT

A healthcare worker injects a teacher with a dose of the CanSino COVID-19 vaccine, on the grounds of the National Polytechnic Institute, in Mexico City, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Mexico is mounting a final push to get all of the country's school teachers vaccinated so that it can reopen schools, perhaps by June. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
The Latest: Las Vegas Strip rules to end for vaccinated

By The Associated Press May. 18, 2021 02:02 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 1, 2021 file picture, World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala attends a news conference at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The head of the World Trade Organization said Friday, May 7, 2021, the U.S. administration’s call to remove patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines will give an impetus to negotiations to resolve access inequity but such a waiver might not be the “critical issue” against the pandemic. (Denis Balibouse/Pool via AP)
Unsure vaccine waiver will help, some leaders urge exports

By Nicole Winfield And Jamey Keaten May. 07, 2021 10:32 AM EDT

A family member mourns next to the bodies of COVID-19 victims at a crematorium near Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 7, 2021. Across the border from a devastating surge in India, doctors in Nepal warned Friday of a major crisis as daily coronavirus cases hit a record and hospitals were running out of beds and oxygen. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
The Latest: Connecticut data show COVID-19 vaccine effective

By The Associated Press May. 07, 2021 04:47 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 29, 2020, file photo, Pat Moore, with the Chester County, Pa., Health Department, fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before administering it to emergency medical workers and health care personnel at the Chester County Government Services Center in West Chester, Pa. The Biden administration’s call to lift patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help poor parts of the world get more doses has drawn praise from some countries and health advocates. But it has run into resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and others, who say that it won’t help curb the outbreak any time soon and will hurt future innovation. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
EXPLAINER: Why patents on COVID vaccines are so contentious

By Linda A. Johnson May. 06, 2021 01:11 PM EDT

French President Emmanuel Macron talks to the press as he visits a giant vaccination center against the Covid-19 during its inauguration at Porte de Versailles convention centre in Paris, Thursday, May 6, 2021. (Christophe Archambault, Pool Photo via AP)
More support easing vaccine patent rules, but hurdles remain

By Jamey Keaten May. 06, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, March 1, 2021 file photo, New Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, walks at the entrance of the WTO, following a photo-op upon her arrival at the WTO headquarters to take office in Geneva, Switzerland. Ambassadors from World Trade Organization countries were discussing trade rules protecting the technological know-how behind COVID-19 vaccines. The WTO’s General Council's agenda for a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, May 5, 2021 includes a waiver on intellectual property protections for vaccines. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP, FIle)
US backs waiving intellectual property rules on vaccines

By Jamey Keaten And Zeke Miller May. 05, 2021 03:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this Monday, March 1, 2021 file photo, New Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, left, walks at the entrance of the WTO, following a photo-op upon her arrival at the WTO headquarters to take office in Geneva, Switzerland. Ambassadors from World Trade Organization countries were discussing trade rules protecting the technological know-how behind COVID-19 vaccines. The WTO’s General Council's agenda for a two-day meeting starting Wednesday, May 5, 2021 includes a waiver on intellectual property protections for vaccines. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP, FIle)
WTO chief seeks text to advance debate over COVID-19 vaccine

By Jamey Keaten May. 05, 2021 02:56 AM EDT

People sit among physical distancing markers as they wait for buses to go back to their home villages, at the Kalideres bus terminal in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The mass exodus out of major cities in the world's most populous Muslim country is underway despite travel restrictions are imposed by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, as people are heading home to their villages to celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
The Latest: Fiji locks down hospital over coronavirus death

By The Associated Press May. 05, 2021 01:05 AM EDT

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Washington. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP)
US to launch trade talks on COVID-19 vaccine distribution

By Darlene Superville May. 02, 2021 02:39 PM EDT