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 "The trend is going in the wrong direction," WTO Director General
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a virtual U.N. forum, referring to barriers
on goods trade related to the pandemic.
"We need to bring those restrictions down so we can move...medical
goods and supplies and vaccines (faster)."
She said the number of trade restrictions was 109 at the start of
the pandemic early last year, and had later fallen to 51 but had
since risen again to 53.
At the same event, she called on WTO members to reach a deal by July
on improving access to COVID-19 vaccines after months of talks on
waiving drug firms' intellectual property rights. Most developing
countries support the waiver but several wealthy countries remain
strongly opposed, saying it will deter research that allowed
COVID-19 vaccines to be produced so quickly.
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"It's going to be tough because there are still differences but we
hope we can get to a pragmatic approach," Okonjo-Iweala said. "I'm
in a hurry and I want us to get some agreement by July because lives
are important."
The former Nigerian finance minister also commented on a WTO
ministerial conference next month that will aim to strike a deal on
cutting fisheries subsidies, saying she still saw "serious
differences" between countries.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Mark Heinrich)
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