World Trade Organization
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

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

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

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

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 14, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden removes his mask to speak at a news conference at the White House, in Washington. Ten liberal senators are urging Biden to back India and South Africa’s appeal to the World Trade Organization to temporarily relax intellectual property rules so coronavirus vaccines can be manufactured by nations that are struggling to inoculate their population. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)
Senators to Biden: Waive vaccine intellectual property rules

By Aamer Madhani Apr. 16, 2021 06:00 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. The head of the World Trade Organization has called for for expanded vaccine manufacturing capability in developing countries. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Thursday, April 1, 2021 that "vaccine inequity" during the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the need for developing nations to be able to make vaccines. She said, "The idea that 70% of vaccines today have been administered only by 10 countries is really not acceptable.” (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP, FIle)
World trade body chief says vaccine inequity 'unacceptable'

Apr. 01, 2021 08:11 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. The World Trade Organization is raising its estimate for the rebound in global trade in goods but warning that the COVID-19 pandemic still poses the greatest threat to a recovery that is being hampered by lagging vaccinations, regional disparities and weakness in services. The organizations' WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called for a better access to vaccines for people in in poorer countries. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP, FIle)
WTO: Vaccination lag poses threat to rebounding global trade

Mar. 31, 2021 11:13 AM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020 file photo, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to address a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels. In a sign of goodwill to rebuild trans-Atlantic relations, the European Union and the United States have decided to suspend tariffs used in the longstanding Airbus-Boeing dispute for a four-month period, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday, March 5, 2021 after a remote conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file)
EU, US agree to suspend tariffs over Airbus-Boeing dispute

By Raf Casert Mar. 05, 2021 02:31 PM EST

New Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, center, speaks between WTO Deputy Directors-General Alan Wolff, left, and Karl Brauner upon her arrival at the WTO headquarters to takes office in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, March 1, 2021. Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala takes the reins of the WTO amid hope she will infuse the beleaguered body with fresh momentum to address towering challenges and a pandemic-fuelled global economic crisis. (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/Keystone via AP)
In 1st day on job, new WTO chief pushes for fisheries deal

By Jamey Keaten Mar. 01, 2021 02:56 AM EST

A member of production personnel walks in a corridor past a room containing a Disposable 50L Bioreactor (STR50) System with peristaltic pumps and an Inverted Microscope inside the Incepta plant on the outskirts of Dhaka in Bangladesh Saturday Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)
Countries urge drug companies to share vaccine know-how

By Maria Cheng And Lori Hinnant Mar. 01, 2021 02:24 AM EST

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 file photo, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during a panel discussion "The Post-2015 Goals: Inspiring a New Generation to Act", the fifth annual Associated Press debate, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Okonjo-Iweala was appointed Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 to head the World Trade Organization as it seeks to to resolve disagreements over how it decides cases involving billions in sales and thousands of jobs. Okonjo-Iweala was appointed as director-general of the leading international trade body by representatives of the 164 member countries, according to a statement from the body. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, file)
Okonjo-Iweala is 1st woman, African to lead world trade body

By David Mchugh Feb. 15, 2021 09:42 AM EST