Sen. Cramer, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Stop Biden from Crushing American Innovation

Statement

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R--ND), joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in introducing legislation to stop the Biden administration from compromising the intellectual property rights of vaccine manufacturers through Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waivers.

"Ingenuity is a key aspect of the American dream. The Biden Administration's efforts to undermine intellectual property protections when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines discourages the very medical breakthroughs of President Trump's Operation Warp Speed and threatens future discoveries, as well as our ability to prepare for the next pandemic. The No Free TRIPS Act adds a necessary check on the Biden Administration and prevents them from entering into agreements which waive global intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics," said Senator Cramer.

"President Trump's Operation Warp Speed proved the life-saving capabilities of the private sector, but for some reason the Democrats are on a mission to stop this innovation in its tracks," said Senator Blackburn. "I am leading the charge to stop Joe Biden's plan to waive the intellectual property rights of vaccine manufacturers. Without the power of free market innovation, we will lose any chance we have at successfully managing another global public health crisis."

"With the support of decades of research and development, voluntary technology transfers, and hundreds of partnerships, biopharmaceutical manufacturers are producing the COVID-19 vaccines we need to vaccinate the world," said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of PhRMA. "Efforts to undermine intellectual property protections are unnecessary and harmful to our collective work to end the pandemic and respond to future public health threats. The No Free TRIPS Act would help ensure the U.S. does not surrender the American intellectual property that's been critical to fighting COVID-19."

"Intellectual property waiver proposals distract from the real issues preventing more shots in arms, such as logistical hurdles, supply chain bottlenecks, and vaccine hesitancy. Business is delivering on the promise to manufacture safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for the whole world. Vaccine production is estimated to reach over 20 billion doses this year, enough for everyone. As of March 2022, over 65% of the global population has received at least one dose, and this number is growing every day. The dismantling of IP rights threatens the licensing arrangements that are enabling rapid global production and technology transfer. The Chamber applauds these Members of Congress for introducing this important legislation and strongly supports the No Free TRIPS Act and the Protecting American Innovation Act," said Neil L. Bradley, Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Head of Strategic Advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Senators Cramer and Blackburn were joined by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R- AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Mike Lee (R-UT).

Background:

Last month, reports surfaced that the United States, European Union, India and South Africa reached a deal on a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver for COVID-19 vaccines.
The compromise would allow developing countries with low vaccine exports to use patented vaccine formulas without the owner's approval.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) claims that a waiver would promote greater global production and access to vaccines, but industry is expected to produce 20 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2022.
South Africa and India want access to the underlying technology so they can capitalize on U.S. private investment. In addition, it is likely this technology would then be transferred to adversaries like Russia and China.
The ongoing TRIPS waiver negotiations at World Trade Organization would undermine American innovation and threatens our ability to prepare for the next pandemic.

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