Washington, D.C. – Following the announcement by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative calling for a delay in a World Trade Organization decision on whether to expand a waiver of intellectual property, National Association of Manufacturers Vice President of International Economic Affairs Ken Monahan released the following statement:
“An expanded intellectual property waiver would jeopardize American innovations that are fundamental to fighting current and future pandemics and undermine U.S. technology leadership over our commercial rivals, such as China. Manufacturers welcome USTR’s announcement supporting a delay in the decision on whether or not to expand the WTO’s waiver on COVID-19 products and domestic supply chains and urge all WTO members to fully consider the consequences of such an expanded waiver.
“Efforts could be better spent focusing on other effective international approaches to deal with ongoing and potential global health crises.”
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.9 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.
