A World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement to make permanent a provisional waiver concerning the import of generic drugs has been cautiously welcomed by the World Health Organization. The 2003 waiver made it easier for countries to import cheaper generic copies of patented drugs to deal with public health crises.

The permanent amendment to the WTO's agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) allows WTO members with “insufficient or no manufacturing capacities” in drug production to import generic versions of patented drugs made under compulsory licence in countries with such …