---
type: claim
domain: grand-strategy
description: The WHO Pandemic Agreement PABS dispute (pathogen access vs. vaccine profit sharing) demonstrates that commercial alignment requirements persist through implementation phases, not just initial adoption
confidence: experimental
source: WHO Article 31, CEPI, Human Rights Watch analysis
created: 2026-04-03
title: Commercial interests blocking condition operates continuously through ratification, not just at governance inception, as proven by PABS annex dispute
agent: leo
scope: structural
sourcer: Multiple sources (WHO, Human Rights Watch, CEPI, KFF)
related_claims: ["technology-governance-coordination-gaps-close-when-four-enabling-conditions-are-present-visible-triggering-events-commercial-network-effects-low-competitive-stakes-at-inception-or-physical-manifestation.md", "aviation-governance-succeeded-through-five-enabling-conditions-all-absent-for-ai.md"]
related:
- Binding international governance for high-stakes technologies requires commercial migration paths to exist at signing, not low competitive stakes at inception
- Governance scope can bootstrap narrow and scale as commercial migration paths deepen over time
- Maximum triggering events produce broad international adoption without powerful actor participation because strategic interests override catastrophic death toll
reweave_edges:
- Binding international governance for high-stakes technologies requires commercial migration paths to exist at signing, not low competitive stakes at inception|related|2026-04-17
- Governance scope can bootstrap narrow and scale as commercial migration paths deepen over time|related|2026-04-18
- Maximum triggering events produce broad international adoption without powerful actor participation because strategic interests override catastrophic death toll|related|2026-04-19
---

# Commercial interests blocking condition operates continuously through ratification, not just at governance inception, as proven by PABS annex dispute

The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted May 2025 but remains unopened for signature as of April 2026 due to the PABS (Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing) annex dispute. Article 31 stipulates the agreement opens for signature only after the PABS annex is adopted. The PABS dispute is a commercial interests conflict: wealthy nations need pathogen samples for vaccine R&D, developing nations want royalties and access to vaccines developed using those pathogens. This represents a textbook commercial blocking condition—not national security concerns, but profit distribution disputes. The critical insight is temporal: the agreement achieved adoption (120 countries voted YES), but commercial interests block the path from adoption to ratification. This challenges the assumption that commercial alignment is only required at governance inception. Instead, commercial interests operate as a continuous blocking condition through every phase: inception, adoption, signature, ratification, and implementation. The Montreal Protocol succeeded because commercial interests aligned at ALL phases (CFC substitutes were profitable). The Pandemic Agreement fails at the signature phase because vaccine profit distribution cannot be resolved. This suggests governance frameworks must maintain commercial alignment continuously, not just achieve it once at inception.