French president Emmanuel Macron said he was ready to discuss waiving patents for Covid-19 vaccines but hit out at america blocking the export of key ingredients and the vaccines themselves.

“Today, the Anglo-Saxons block lots of these ingredients and vaccines. Today 100 per cent of vaccines produced in the United States of America go to the American market,” Macron said as he arrived at a summit in Portugal on Friday.

The French president spoke after the US backed a temporary suspension of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines.

A measure to allow countries to temporarily override patent rights for pandemic-related medical products, and thus make copycat vaccines, was proposed at the World Trade Organization by India and South Africa in October, and has since been backed by about 60 countries.

Macron, however, defended Europe’s record in sending doses abroad, saying it had been “the most generous” of developed countries so far -- and that it was more important to not block exports and to donate vaccines widely.

“What is the real issue right now? It is not really about intellectual property. You can give the intellectual property to laboratories that do not know how to produce it. They won’t produce tomorrow. The primary issue for vaccine solidarity is the donation of doses,” he said.

Macron said that the transfer of technology needed to produce the vaccine was also important.