House GOP lawmakers push bill requiring transparency in TRIPS waiver talks

Nearly a dozen Republican members of the House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday introduced legislation to restrict the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s ability to negotiate a proposed waiver of some World Trade Organization intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines with additional congressional oversight and consultation requirements. The debate over the waiver, which would apply to certain provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, has been contentious, both in Washington and Geneva. Domestically,...