WTO's proposed IP waiver bucked

LONDON: The European Union, Britain and Japan continued to voice doubts at the World Trade Organization (WTO) about a proposed intellectual property (IP) waiver on Covid-19 products such as vaccines, a Geneva trade official said.

Proposals to initiate text-based discussions on an IP waiver, rather than more general talks, gained traction at an informal meeting of the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (Trips) council, the official said.