The Day at a Glance | May 6 2021

The Top

*The US will back an international petition in the WTO to suspend the protection of vaccine patents in efforts to increase global production.

*Central Bank of England keeps interest rates and the purchasing program unchanged, although it assures that it has slowed down the rhythm of purchases.

*Jobless claims fell for a fourth consecutive week in the US (498 thousand).

*Central Bank of Brazil increased rates in 75 base points and announced that it will carry out another increase next month to control inflation.

*US Congress must increase debt ceiling before August 1st to avoid a government shutdown.

Economic environment

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai assured that the US will participate in negotiations to temporarily suspend vaccine intellectual property, in a discussion that was held in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in order to increase the production of vaccines at a global level and achieve inoculation goals at a worldwide level. The European Union is also showing willingness to participate in a project that seeks to back efforts among low income countries to immunize their citizens and overcome the pandemic. The proposal suggests approving an exception to intellectual property, which impedes the creation of generic copies. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers considered that, despite being simple, this measure is not the correct one since it may not necessarily increase production, nor will it be a practical solution for the crisis. Stock prices among pharmaceutical companies fell considerably early Thursday morning. For many pharmaceutical and medical companies, the suspension of intellectual property protection could affect investment and innovation in the sector. Nevertheless, the proposal suggests a temporary suspension – not permanent. The US backing these negotiations doesn’t imply that the measure will be completely adopted and there are still weeks of negotiations to be had before each country`s stance on the matter is known.