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Bipartisan Letter Asks for More Information on US Position on TRIPS Waiver

Six Republican and four Democratic senators are asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai if she is meeting the legal requirement to consult with Congress before the U.S. commits to an intellectual property waiver related to the pandemic, a topic of discussion at the World Trade Organization.

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Their letter, sent Oct. 19 and led by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., asks what economic analysis the administration has conducted on how a vaccine waiver would affect global vaccine supply "and how this information may inform a U.S. position on a possible waiver expansion." It also asks what analysis has been done on whether a broader waiver would affect research and development spending, and how the WTO "will define a 'diagnostic' and a 'therapeutic.'"