TRIPS waiver: US support is a major step but no guarantee of COVID-19 vaccine equity
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In a momentous shift, the US recently agreed to support a waiver of the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The waiver would suspend intellectual property rights, such as patents and trademarks, on products required to fight COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic.
May 13, 2021
Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal (file photo) - KK×
‘Temporary waiver of TRIPS provisions is not enough for overcoming Covid-19 crisis’
Acceptance of the temporary waiver for Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provisions by countries is not enough for overcoming the Covid-19 crisis as nations also need to expedite consensus building, transfer of technology and availability of raw materials to make it happen, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.
“Countries should also share vaccines liberally with those that are in dire need,” the Minister said at the World Economic Forum’s session on Global Trade Outlook on Wednesday. India wants the proposed TRIPS waiver to cover medicines, vaccinations and associated infrastructure to address the challenge of Covid-19, the Minister said .
Credit: UNICEF/Nahom Tesfaye
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 11 2021 (IPS) - Thanks to President Biden, the US now supports a suspension of intellectual property (IP) rights to increase vaccine supplies. However, without vaccine developers sharing tacit technical knowledge for safe vaccine mass production, it will be difficult to rapidly scale up vaccine output.
Waiver delayed is waiver denied
The CEOs of Pfizer and Astra Zeneca had recently asked the US President to reject the waiver request. Nevertheless, on 5 May, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced US support for a vaccine waiver. The hope is that many, mainly rich countries will now stop opposing the developing country waiver proposal.