Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage World Trade Organization members to support the introduction of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver.

The United Kingdom does not support the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver. We have not seen evidence that Intellectual Property (IP) rights are a blocker to increasing the supply of COVID-19 goods, including vaccines. Rather, evidence shows continued increases of COVID-19 vaccine doses being manufactured.

While we recognise and share concerns regarding the lack of access to vaccines in parts of the world, we must focus on the real challenges to vaccine equity. This includes pressure on health systems; supply chain issues like export restrictions; and vaccine confidence. We remain open to initiatives which help overcome these challenges, which waiving IP rights does not.