WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today met virtually with Dr. Ruud Dobber, Executive Vice-President of the BioPharmaceuticals Business Unit, and Head of US Business at AstraZeneca. Ambassador Tai and Dr. Dobber discussed increasing vaccine production, global health issues and the proposed waiver to certain provisions of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambassador Tai reiterated that the Biden-Harris Administration’s top priority is saving lives and ending the pandemic here at home and around the world. She expressed her deep sympathy for the people of India and highlighted the announcement that the United States was examining options to share AstraZeneca vaccine doses with other countries as they become available. The Ambassador also emphasized her commitment to working with WTO members on a global pandemic response, including the role of developing countries in any effective solution that addresses critical gaps in global production and distribution of vaccines. Dr. Dobber shared his views on the challenges with increasing vaccine production and distribution around the world and they agreed to stay in communication going forward.
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Tweet from @AmbassadorTai:
I had a productive conversation with Dr. Ruud Dobber at Astra Zeneca about saving lives and ending the pandemic by increasing global vaccine production.
