USA supports proposal of TRIPS Waiver in wake of the pandemic situation, India welcomes move

NEWS

USA supports proposal of TRIPS Waiver in wake of the pandemic situation, India welcomes move

By Pallavi Paul

India and South Africa had proposed to the World Health Organization (WHO) for waiver of certain provisions offered by the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) for protection on the containment and treatment of Covid-19 and to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for the developing countries. The proposal received support of more than 100 countries but made little progress due to opposition from the U.S, THE European Union, the U.K, and Canada and others.

NEWS

By Pallavi Paul

However, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai on 05th May, 2021 released a statement announcing the USA’s support for waving intellectual property protections for Covid vaccines. The announcement focused on the global health crisis and extraordinary circumstances of Covid-19 pandemic to end which, they believed that the support for waiver on Covid-19 vaccines was the need of the hour. The said they will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the WTO to make this happen. India welcomed this statement of the US government and said they are hopeful that with a consensus-based approach, the waiver can be quickly approved at the WTO as this is an important step to enable rapid scaling and manufacturing of timely-available Covid-19 Vaccines and essential medical products..