U.S. Trade representative encouraged by progress toward vaccine patent waiver

Progress is being made towards a deal on an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO), U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Saturday.

Tai pointed to a revised proposal from the original proponents of the waiver, led by India and South Africa, as well as principles the European Union has come up with to guide how they would like to negotiate the issues.

In a surprise shift in May, the United States moved to supporting a patent waiver, piling pressure on opponents like the European Union and Switzerland, where many drugmakers are based.

"We're actually really encouraged to see more WTO members come forth with proposals on what they can support at the WTO with respect to intellectual property rules at the WTO and how they apply to the COVID vaccines," Tai told reporters ahead of a meeting of trade ministers in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. ...