Thread by @adamjohnsonNYC

TRIPSwaiver will likely never be approved by leaders in EU/US because it would too radically alter the colonial relations propped up by the WTO, the rush therefore is to mass produce “Hyundai” vaccines for the global poor using the “charity” route

I believe those working on this route believe IP waivers are virtually impossible so why bother but this of course becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and it’s notable they’re almost all funded by IP-above-all-else Bill Gates

It’s more effective PR and diplomacy wise for the US to “donate” vaccines when countries are lit on fire than to do what activists asked for months ago which is waive IP and force US pharmaceuticals to share tech and materials under the threat of cutting off public funding

tbc because there seems to be a lot of confusion, TRIPSwaiver is—and has never been marketed as—a magic bullet, this is a straw man propped up by the IP lobby/GatesWorld. It would however, if paired with tech and materials, massively free up multiple pathways for manufacturing

Scanning pharma & IP lobby’s own material and zoom conferences they drive home the point constantly that this isn’t just about COVID, the application of mRNA is tremendous and will generate billions for decades. The NatSec/chamber of commerce crowd isnt gonna weaken this one inch

The basic foundations of the global economic order cannot and will not be altered that much. A third way must be pursued, one that maintains the sanctity of the global IP regime while still tending to the US’s PR needs of looking like a “global leader” of “aid”

Also it is objectively in US elites’ best interests to sort of maybe end the pandemic at some point but it’s not more important than maintaining a “competitive edge” over China with respect to biotech and preventing any weakening of global IP enforcement regimes.

Watch this panel anti-TRIPSwaiver CSIS hosted last week featuring pharma’s man in DC @ChrisCoons, the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for Johnson & Johnson and the Chief Patent Counsel for Pfizer. It’s nonstop “China” and “competitive edge” talk.