WTO Releases Joint Indicative List of COVID-19 Vaccine Critical Inputs

The World Trade Organization issued an indicative list of critical inputs for the "manufacturing, distributing and administering" of COVID-19 vaccines on July 7. The list was first compiled at a COVID-19nvaccine supply chain symposium and jointly produced with the Asian Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Customs Organization, some COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, researchers Chad Bown and Chris Rogers, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and DHL. While the list holds no legal status, it is based on the 2017 Harmonized System and is intended to help scale up global vaccine production and cooperation, according to an accompanying press release. The list was also released "without prejudice to the actual tariff classification assigned by WTO members' customs administrations at the time of importation."