TAPP Decries WTO Decision on TRIPS Waiver

On Friday, June 17, encouraged by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) voted to remove intellectual property (IP) protections on COVID-19 vaccines.

This move strips away the rights of American innovators and hurts doctors and patients alike. The waiver allows countries to steal American IP for their own use. Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver is the opportunity of a lifetime for Chinese and Russian officials looking to overtake the U.S. in global technological supremacy.

The TRIPS waiver sets a dangerous precedent in leaving American IP vulnerable for attack and theft from foreign governments. It grossly undermines American innovation and insults the creators that make our technological advances happen. Taking away intellectual property protections decreases our ability to efficiently research medicines and vaccines the next time the world needs a cure. Supporters of the waiver wrongly suggest that intellectual property is a barrier to technological innovation, when in reality it is one of innovation’s greatest catalysts.

The TRIPS waiver harms American innovation and leaves the door open for foreign countries to steal American intellectual property, and ultimately, the innovation edge. The waiver sets a dangerous precedent and cripples American innovation, that’s why TAPP decries the WTO vote and calls on USTR Katherine Tai to change course.