[CTC] U.S. Punts Decision on Vaccine IP Waiver

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade

— The Biden administration is holding out on a WTO proposal to waive intellectual property rights for the coronavirus vaccine as political pressure from Democrats continues to build at home.
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U.S. PUNTS DECISION ON VACCINE IP WAIVER: The Biden administration is not yet backing efforts to waive intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines, a proposal that South Africa and India put forth in October in hopes of ramping up production for low-income nations. At a WTO gathering on Wednesday, the U.S. said it would continue to discuss the proposal with other members while making the equitable distribution of vaccines a priority.

The WTO’s intellectual property council will meet again June 8 and 9, though the members agreed Wednesday to convene in the middle of next month to “assess potential progress.” The discussion comes as global leaders are increasingly uneasy about the pace of vaccine production and the timeline of inoculating citizens of developing countries.

An IP waiver is a politically dicey issue for Biden. So far, his administration has maintained former President Donald Trump’s opposition to the idea. Countries that invested heavily to develop the vaccines on a rapid timeline argue waiving the IP reduces the financial incentive for future medical advancements.

But a number of liberals are pushing Biden to support a waiver because the pandemic is a dire public health issue and leaving parts of the world unvaccinated puts the U.S. at risk. Sen. Bernie Sanders  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=911507576888843514879618cc55240889a23cb52f6cb842e45a760feb09b5aaffbb3984745a86e98a1f3a030b1d766f>(I-Vt.) said Wednesday <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9115075768888435f8faade5a4acf585a95c6a9531a1406022d9b399cbd94d13ebde2f92d77e1899e9518050d3cc9102> he was sending a letter to Biden urging him to back India and South Africa’s request.


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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