USTR Says Administration Supports TRIPS Waiver for Vaccines

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced May 5 that the U.S. will support an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, but she cautioned that negotiating the language in Geneva will take time, because of both the need for consensus at the World Trade Organization and the “complexity of the issues.” Top Democrats in Congress welcomed the announcement. Tai also said the administration will work to increase production of raw materials for vaccines.