<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class="">Dear friends,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Hundreds of civil society organizations from the global south are calling on President Biden to support the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. Details on how to boost their work are below. You can also <a href="https://twitter.com/citizenstrade/status/1361691583830237185?s=20" class="">retweet CTC here</a>.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">To make a bigger impact still, group should please <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCMLYtfJwATFfEMaYGOYDiyKj7F03ypclyt_G-EQ7FO7CXEA/viewform" class=""><b class="">join the US organizational sign-on letter</b></a> and individuals should <a href="https://citizenstrade.salsalabs.org/ctc021121covidtripswaiver/index.html" class=""><b class="">sign this petition</b></a> in support of the waiver. For a deeper dive into the issue and how to make a difference, please <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/forms/us-must-lift-wto-block-on-covid-19-vaccine-technology" class="">sign-up to join Thursday’s webinar.</a> </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">In solidarity,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">Arthur Stamoulis, Executive Director</div><div class="">CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="https://publicservices.international/resources/news/global-south-urges-rich-countries-to-lift-monopolies-on-covid-19-vaccines?lang=en&id=11578" class="">https://publicservices.international/resources/news/global-south-urges-rich-countries-to-lift-monopolies-on-covid-19-vaccines?lang=en&id=11578</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class=""><font size="5" class="">Global South urges rich countries to lift monopolies on Covid19 medical products</font></b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><b class="">Ahead of critical talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) civil
society and trade unions from the Global South are calling on rich
countries’ leaders to stop blocking a proposal to waive certain
intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and other medical
products. Join the Twitter action!</b></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">This landmark proposal to temporarily suspend the application and
enforcement of certain intellectual property obligations under the WTO
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS Agreement), or the “TRIPS waiver” is to facilitate the effective
prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19.</div><p class="">Developing
countries have stressed that the “TRIPS waiver”is an essential starting
point for countries to ramp up and diversify the production of
therapeutics, vaccines and other medical products needed to address the
global pandemic.</p><p class="">However, a handful of countries — mostly those
who have a stake in the protection of monopoly-based pharmaceutical
industry — including the European Union, the United States, Japan,
Switzerland, and Canada, have been blocking the waiver.</p><div class=""></div></body></html>