U.S. trade chief says WTO vaccine talks should remove obstacles to production

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that her objective in World Trade Organization talks over a COVID-19 vaccines waiver is to remove intellectual property as an obstacle to increasing vaccine production.

She told the Senate Finance Committee that she views the talks to be less about preventing other countries from "stealing" U.S. technology and more about finding a way to have a positive impact on people's lives by ending the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's important for us to be able to show that the WTO can produce that are effective and relevant to people's lives," Tai said.