[20210517]LSB10599_免除世界贸易组织（WTO）义务的法律框架.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Legal Framework for Waiving World Trade Organization (WTO) Obligations May 17, 2021 On May 6, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it supported negotiating a waiver of certain obligations in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The announcement represents a shift in the U.S. position at the WTO on South Africa and Indias October 2020 proposal to waive some TRIPS obligations to address the “prevention, containment or treatment” of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). To date, WTO members remain divided as to the need for or appropriateness of the proposed waiver. As of this writing, South Africa and India are revising the proposal with the aim of submitting a revised text later this month. (For more information on the proposed TRIPS waiver to address the COVID-19 pandemic, see this CRS Insight.) After the Biden Administrations announcement, some Members of Congress have asked, including during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, about the Administrations authority to agree to such a wai