Second is the decision on the waiver of some TRIPS provisions, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. What we have lost in consensus and content, we have made up for in upholding institutions and procedures. There are two things to learn from MC 12, (i) the system still functions, and (ii) we still know how to use it. The first issue is that the decision on the E-Commerce Moratorium is the usual extension that takes place at every ministerial, making sure that our international internet calls and emails ( electronic transmissions) remain duty-free at least till MC13. While decisions were made on food security, e-commerce, fisheries subsidies, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), three issues stand out. What the WTO and others have claimed as an ‘ unprecedented’ round of negotiations in terms of outcomes, is only unprecedented to the extent that there were any decisions at all. However, much has been made of what is in the final analysis of non-outcomes from MC12. Amrita Narlikar’s observation from over 10 years ago-that the WTO was able to reduce its fairness deficit but not its efficiency deficit takes on new relevance. At the same time, the wide membership also creates hurdles in decision-making. The 164 members ensure diversity and representation. Over the years, questions have been raised over the functioning of the WTO given the lack of consensus even as the membership has expanded. The crisis peaked in 2020 with no members currently serving, paralysing an entire arm and function of the WTO. As a result, by October 2016, the body was down to four members. The Obama administration had been blocking appointments to the AB even before the Trump administration became openly hostile to trade. The AB is the standing arm of the Dispute Settlement system and is supposed to have a minimum of seven members as per Article 17 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, with three members assigned per dispute. A brewing crisis at the time was the slow demise of the Appellate Body (AB) of the WTO, its crown jewel so to speak. In the interim between MC11 and MC12, the trade war between the United States (US) and China, which was underway since November 2017, kept escalating.
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