WASHINGTON DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Jake Colvin today issued the following statement following the release of the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) report on “COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Supply, Demand, and TRIPS Agreement Flexibilities:”
“NFTC welcomes the USITC’s report analyzing the impact that weakening IP protections on COVID-related products might have on the U.S. and around the world.
“The findings of this report support the idea that global collaboration on other regulatory and trade facilitation measures can improve access to COVID-related products and ought to be the focus of policymakers. We will continue to work with stakeholders ahead of the WTO’s next ministerial meeting in early 2024 to encourage the implementation of global best practices to support access to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics and better address future pandemics.
“Weakening IP protections would harm the U.S. economy and impair innovation that will be critical to developing new life-saving products, and won’t contribute to improved access to these products around the world.”
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About the NFTC
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) is the premier business association advancing trade and tax policies that support access to the global marketplace. Founded in 1914, NFTC promotes an open, rules-based global economy on behalf of a diverse membership of U.S.-based businesses.
