Smith Statement on USTR TRIPS Announcement

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Lead Republican of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, released the following statement on the Biden administration’s support of extending the deadline for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to decide whether the TRIPS waiver should extend to diagnostics and therapeutics:

“While rejecting any expansion of the TRIPS waiver would be best, I appreciate Ambassador Tai taking Congressional and stakeholder concerns seriously and asking USITC to launch a nonpartisan investigation. There is a fundamental lack of data supporting the need of such a waiver, and I remain steadfastly opposed to handing over U.S. intellectual property because of the dangerous precedent it sets.

"At their core, TRIPS waivers would not address the barriers, such as supply chain challenges, that make fighting COVID-19 around the world more difficult. I remain committed to working in good faith to address these barriers, and I look forward to reviewing the data and analysis in the USITC study.”

The TRIPS agreement related to vaccines was announced during the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference held in June 2022 (MC12). It was also announced WTO would work to determine whether to expand the waiver to include therapeutics and diagnostics by December 17, 2022. Following the announcement, Smith released a statement reiterating his strong opposition to the waiver, highlighting the devastating impact it could have on future innovation.

In May, Smith led a multi-member letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai sharing concerns about the administration's lack of collaboration with Congress on trade matters. Read the letter here.

In April, Smith introduced the Protecting American Innovation Act. The Protecting American Innovation Act would make any TRIPS waiver, as well as any modifications to existing trade agreements, subject to congressional approval. Read more here.

Smith introduced a Resolution of Inquiry demanding documents related to the TRIPS waiver from the administration. Read more about his efforts here.

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