Sen. Tillis Writes to U.S. Trade Representative (Again) Regarding TRIPS Waiver

By Donald Zuhn --

Earlier this month, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property of the Senate Committee of the Judiciary, wrote to United States Trade Representative Katherine C. Tai to express his opposition, yet again, to the Biden Administration's support for a proposal by India and South Africa to waive certain provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in relation to the prevention, containment, or treatment of COVID-19.  In Sen. Tillis' letter, which was his fifth letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, the Senator called the Administration's support for waiving international obligations under the TRIPS Agreement "disastrous" (using that word three times in the two-page letter).

Sen. Tillis (at right) "urge[d] the Administration to abandon its misguided attempts to negotiate any waiver of American intellectual property (IP) rights –- at home or abroad," and argued that "[t]he Administration's continued focus on destroying American IP rights serve not only as a threat to future life-saving innovation, but also as a distraction from the very real problems hindering vaccine access."  Noting that half of the 92 lower-income countries supported by the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program have used less than 75% of the vaccine doses they have received, Sen. Tillis argued that barriers to the delivery of vaccines, rather than vaccine supply, are the biggest issue with expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines.  Among the barriers to delivery, Sen. Tillis pointed to shortages of syringes as one example, and urged the Administration "to focus on resolving urgent trade issues, including export restrictions, supply chain restrictions, ensuring vaccines can clear customs, and financing production."  According to the Senator "these logistical and supply chain issues -- not the IP rights of hardworking American inventor -- -are delaying global vaccinations and should be the Administration's priority."

Sen. Tillis also noted that South Africa, who with India put forth the initial waiver proposal, is also "struggling to overcome vaccine hesitancy," which the Senator believes makes clear that South Africa's "desire for a TRIPS waiver has less to do with vaccination efforts and more to do with their long-standing efforts to steal American intellectual property by forced technology transfer."

The Senator concluded his letter by disputing the fundamental assumption that intellectual property is a barrier to production and sharing vaccines.  According to Sen. Tillis, "IP is an enabler -- allowing companies to share information to work together to develop and distribute complex, sophisticated medical treatments."  He therefore asked the Administration to "not sacrifice our ability to combat future diseases for political points."

For additional information regarding this topic, please see:

• "U.S. Trade Representative Responds to Letters from Senators Regarding TRIPS Waiver," November 14, 2021
• "U.S. Chamber of Commerce Urges Administration to 'Double Down' on Global Vaccine Distribution," November 3, 2021
• "Is This the WTO Waiver End Game?" July 25, 2021
• "BIO Declaration on Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments and Role of IP," June 24, 2021
• "GOP Legislators Write in Opposition to Proposed TRIPS Waiver," May 16, 2021
• "Population of Patents at Risk from Proposed WTO Patent Waiver," May 12, 2021
• "Sen. Daines Urges Biden Administration to Withdraw Support for COVID-19 IP Waiver," May 12, 2021
• "Pfizer CEO Pens Open Letter on COVID-19 Vaccine IP Waiver," May 10, 2021
• "If the Devil of the WTO IP Waiver Is in the Details, What Are the Details?" May 9, 2021
• "The Road to Hell Is Paved with What Everybody Knows," May 6, 2021
• "BIO & IPO Issue Statements on Biden Administration's Support for Proposed WTO Waiver," May 6, 2021
• "Biden Administration Supports Waiver of IP Protection for COVID-19 Vaccines," May 5, 2021
• "Suspending IP Protection: A Bad Idea (That Won't Achieve Its Desired Goals)," April 26, 2021
• "Sen. Tillis Asks Biden Administration to Oppose WTO Waiver Proposal," April 21, 2021
• "IP Organizations Support Continued Opposition to Waiver Proposal," April 5, 2021
• "Industry Coalition Supports Continued Efforts to Oppose Waiver Proposal," March 29, 2021
• "BIO and PhRMA Urge Biden Administration to Oppose Proposed WTO TRIPS Waiver," March 11, 2021
• "IPO Sends Letter on IP Law and Policy to President-Elect and Vice President-Elect," January 4, 2021

Comments

[skeptical]

Why would the Executive Branch deign to answer the Legislative Branch here?

What would make the fifth attempt any more compelling than the first four?

[Greg DeLassus]

I agree with Sen. Tillis that IP is not the “rate limiting” force slowing down vaccine deployment, really anywhere in the world. That said, it betrays a certain misunderstanding of the stakes when one “urge[s] the Administration to abandon… attempts to… waive… American intellectual property (IP) rights… .” At no point has this administration advocated for waiving US IP rights. Rather, the point in contention is whether IN might be allowed to waive IN IP rights, or ZA might be allowed to waive ZA IP rights.

Incidentally, what does it mean to speak of “American… IP… rights—at home or abroad”? How can “American IP rights” be anywhere other than “at home.” If you are talking about IP rights abroad, then they are not—by definition—“American” IP rights.

[skeptical]

For whatever odd reason, I see that Mr. DeLassus insists on his disinformation campaign.

Well, the reason is not all that odd, seeing how his cognitive dissonance between Big Pharma and Liberal Left is well recognized (by all but him, it appears).