Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives

Friends of the Earth International and a broad coalition of global endorsers call for an immediate cessation of trade and investment treaty negotiations. They argue that governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, lack the resources to engage in these negotiations while managing the COVID-19 health crisis. The statement demands that trade negotiators focus exclusively on removing obstacles, such as intellectual property rules and unilateral sanctions, that hinder access to affordable vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe shortages of essential medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, masks, ventilators, vaccines, and medicines, placing intense pressure on governments, especially in developing countries.
• Existing intellectual property obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and various free trade agreements may act as barriers to the supply, affordability, and access of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines.
• Continuing trade negotiations via virtual technologies is deemed unfeasible for many developing and least developed countries due to the digital divide and the urgent need to allocate all governmental resources to the public health emergency.
• The document asserts that the sole priority for trade negotiators should be the removal of all obstacles, including intellectual property rules, that prevent timely and affordable access to diagnostics, devices, vaccines, and lifesaving medicines.
• The statement calls for an end to unilateral sanctions that obstruct countries from obtaining essential medical supplies.
• The authors argue that the pandemic necessitates a fundamental reconsideration of trade agreement rules, specifically those that encourage monopolies and restrict affordable access to medical supplies.

APA

admin (2020). Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/stop-all-trade-and-investment-treaty-negotiations-during-covid-19-crisis-and-focus-on-access-to-medical-supplies-and-saving-lives/

Chicago

admin. Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/stop-all-trade-and-investment-treaty-negotiations-during-covid-19-crisis-and-focus-on-access-to-medical-supplies-and-saving-lives/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=21 April 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/stop-all-trade-and-investment-treaty-negotiations-during-covid-19-crisis-and-focus-on-access-to-medical-supplies-and-saving-lives/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2020stop, author = {admin}, title = {{Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/stop-all-trade-and-investment-treaty-negotiations-during-covid-19-crisis-and-focus-on-access-to-medical-supplies-and-saving-lives/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }