World News | 18 Republican Lawmakers Write to Japan Against TRIPS Waiver for COVID-19 Vaccines

Washington, Jun 17 (PTI) A group of 18 influential Republican lawmakers have written to Japan in support of its stand against waiver to provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for COVID-19-specific items.

The Biden administration is supporting the move by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organisation. However, Japan has expressed its reservations against it. The Opposition Republican Party and the US pharma industry have opposed the move backed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

“We are deeply concerned about the potential negative impacts of this waiver for fighting both this and future health crises and greatly appreciate the Government of Japan's leadership in supporting life sciences innovation by defending strong intellectual property protections at the WTO,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter to Koji Tomita, the Ambassador of Japan to the United States.

Led by Congressman Adrian Smith, the letter expresses concerns regarding a recent proposal to waive intellectual property (IP) protections related to COVID-19 vaccines under the World Trade Organisation's TRIPS agreement. It thanks the Government of Japan for its leadership in defending strong IP protections.

The letter argues the recent TRIPS waiver proposal before the WTO does little to address vaccine production and delivery challenges while offering no solutions to technical and manufacturing obstacles.

It stresses the importance of supporting efforts to vaccinate the global population without weakening IP rights.

“In addition to doing little to address the above challenges, and potentially increasing them, a TRIPS waiver would result in the transfer of critical technology to major economic competitors who have a history of stealing IP for domestic industrial gains, like China and Russia,” it said.

“The promise of IP protections is what helped justify the massive investment pharmaceutical manufacturers put into research and development that ultimately led to the COVID-19 vaccines. Weakening IP rights through a TRIPS waiver would have a chilling effect on future investment during health emergencies and would put these technologies in the hands of nations with ulterior motives. This is not a model we should, nor can we afford to, create,” the letter said.

Instead, the lawmakers wrote, they should be focusing their efforts on ways to increase global vaccine production and improve distribution.

“A great example is the model put forth by the Quad agreement on March 12, 2021, between our nations, India, and Australia to boost COVID-19 production and distribution in Asia. This agreement, which acknowledges the complicated nature of the logistical demands for production, procurement, and delivery of safe and effective vaccines as the critical barrier we must address, is what our nations and the WTO should be prioritising and using as a blueprint for other regions around the world,” the lawmakers wrote.

The proposal of India and South Africa has received support from more than 120 countries. The EU too has stated that they are ready to discuss the patent waiver issue.

In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation of certain provisions of the agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.

The proposed relaxations in the norms of the agreement are aimed at ensuring quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries.

The agreement on TRIPS came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)