Top US trade negotiator meets Pfizer, AstraZeneca execs on Covid-19 IP waiver

Democratic lawmakers, civil society groups, and 60 former heads of state and 100 Nobel Prize winners have urged President Joe Biden to back the waiver.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Monday met virtually with top executives of drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca PLC to discuss a proposed waiver of certain intellectual property rights in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the World Trade Organization are due to discuss a proposal by India and South Africa to waive certain provisions of the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on April 30, but the United States and a few other big countries have blocked such a move. Democratic lawmakers, civil society groups, and 60 former heads of state and 100 Nobel Prize winners have urged President Joe Biden to back the waiver. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said she had no updates on the issue.