European nations not supporting TRIPS waiver move to deal with Covid: Goyal

Unfortunate that some countries putting profits over prudence, said Piyush Goyal on TRIPS waiver proposal

India is trying to promote a temporary waiver on some sections of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement at the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is a move towards equitable access of vaccines and other medicines to everyone across the world, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

Currently, the proposal initiated by India and South Africa is being discussed at the WTO and has been backed by over 100 countries. However, European Union and some other developed nations are not supporting the move. Major pharmaceutical companies have argued that the move can hurt innovation.