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19 Indonesian J. Int'l L. 263 (2021-2022)
Export Restrictions on COVID-19 Vaccines: What Developing Countries Can Do under the WTO Law?

handle is hein.journals/indjil19 and id is 251 raw text is: Indonesian Journal of International Law (2022), Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 263-288 https://doi.org/10.17304/ijil.voll9.2.4 EXPORT RESTRICTIONS ON COVID-19 VACCINES: WHAT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CAN DO UNDER THE WTO LAW? I Gusti Ngurah Parikesit Widiatedja Universitas Udayana, Indonesia Correspondence: ngurahparikesit@gmail.com Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy and trade, since production and consumption have been reduced around the world. The production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines caused unequal distribution as some developed countries have imposed export restrictions. As a result, wealthier countries are resuming normalcy, while the rest of the world continues to struggle to vaccinate its citizens. Article XI(2)(a) of The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade exceptions allow members the legal ability to impose export restrictions if they meet specific criteria: they must be temporary, confined to foodstuffs and vital products, and enforced in the context of preventing and easing critical shortages. Export restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine applied by developed countries appear to meet these criteria, given that all of these countries are facing a shortage, and the restrictions are being placed to alleviate it. Responding to this unpleasant measure, this article finds that developing countries may employ two available alternative measures, namely compulsory licensing and security exceptions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to protest unequal distribution of vaccines around the world. Keywords : Covid-19 vaccines, developing countries, export restrictions, WTO law Submitted : 27 June 2022 1 Revised : 12 June 2022 1 Accepted : 14 June 2022 I. INTRODUCTION Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), export restrictions did not get nearly as much attention as they did when it came to import restrictions in the past.1 However, the situation has radically shifted over the last decade, and several countries - particularly natural resource producers - have imposed taxes, quotas and prohibitions on exports.2 These actions are being taken for a variety of reasons. The first is due to a shortage of Stephanie Switzer, Leonardus Gerber and Francesco Sindico, Access to Minerals: WTO Ex- port Restrictions and Climate Change Considerations, Laws 4 (2015): 631. HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.3390/ LAWS4030617 2 Jack Quirk, COVID-19 and Export Restrictions: The Case for Free Trade, Loyola University Chi- cago International Law Review 17, no. 2 (2021): 154. httns://lawecommons.luc.edu/lucilr/voll7/iss2/4 Copyright O 2022 - I Gusti Ngurah Parikesit Widiatedja Published by Lembaga Pengkajian Hukum Internasional

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