WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) today joined Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) to send a letter to President Biden urging his administration to reject an upcoming proposal at the World Trade Organization that would strip American companies of their intellectual property rights for any innovation related to COVID-19.

In part, the senators wrote:

“India, South Africa, and other countries are presenting a proposal at the World Trade Organization to waive all intellectual property rights for any innovation related to COVID-19. The proponents of this scheme argue that if we just destroy the intellectual property developed by American companies, we will suddenly have more manufacturers producing COVID-19 vaccines. 

“But the opposite is true. By destroying the intellectual property of every American company that has worked on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments we would be ending the progress—started under Operation Warp Speed—that led to the fastest development of life-saving vaccines in history.”

The full letter text can be found here.