This seeming reversal of Biden's position is a great development. David Doel, at the Rational National, is excited, at least at first. However, remember our nation's post-WWII history. Ambassador Tai (who Ryan Grim tweeted is a progressive, with nothing in her history showing that; Grim is awful in his tweets, as he practices access journalism/sucking up on Twitter) may have pushed Biden to seemingly reverse course. However, Doel's report from two days ago shows Big Pharma interests remain well represented among White House advisors.
So, what happened here? What happened here is the US wants to control negotiations at the WTO and outside the WTO, as there was pressure from over 100 nations pushing the US, UK, and Canada. Tai apparently helped Biden and his corrupt Big Pharma White House aides to see that if the US says it is totally against lifting patents, the US can't be part of negotiations--and the US will have other problems when the US wants to push for other trade deals that will continue to help US corporations. This press release Doel refers to is not from the White House. It is from Tai's office. Here is what it says:
This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.
The Administration’s aim is to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible. As our vaccine supply for the American people is secured, the Administration will continue to ramp up its efforts – working with the private sector and all possible partners – to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. It will also work to increase the raw materials needed to produce those vaccines.
The key is in the "text-based" and "active participation" language, as that is code for the US wants to ensure Big Pharma interests are strongly protected and promoted at the discussions inside the WTO. We also know the language about "text-based" is deadly because, well, just ask the dolphins.
Then there is the kicker sentence, showing how Biden's White House is going to slow things down and avoid any real solution that will help these nations--unless Big Pharma is paid off: "Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved."
Uh-oh. There is no "complexity" here. None--except Big Pharma's corruption that envelops the White House, and will be well protected by the language and structure of the World Trade Organization. Also, the "consensus" already exists among the majority of nations around the world, so why would there be any delay--again, unless "complexity" means negotiating with Big Pharma where Big Pharma holds the power cards.
Remember, too: There was only US, UK, and Canada blocking the governmental consensus. Will Joe Biden use Canada (yeah, it is past time to get over your love-fest with the Trudeau fellow) and the fascistic-Boris Johnson in the UK the way he used Manchin to kill the $15 minimum wage? That move is less likely. Instead, what I think is, after three months of negotiations, there will be an agreement to further enrich Big Pharma with government money subsidies, and allow for the poor nations to borrow more money from the World Bank and IMF to get "access" to the vaccines. And the distribution will end up being part of an overall slog, all during a time when the pandemic is raging in these developing nations.
In short, David Doel's celebration is premature, and he appears to realize it toward the end of his short video. And, again, Doel is wrong to say the domestic American Left pushed Biden Left. The American Left is still divided. Those progressives closer to power, and those of our fellow citizens who bow to MSNBC and CNN every day, are still in the "cut Biden some slack" mode. This change came from Tai having to deal with the pushback from over 100 nations while she works to try and repair American corporate and governmental power in the post-Trump world--during a pandemic raging through a variety of nations. We as regular citizens don't count with the Biden administration. That is why anyone who doesn't want to push Biden Left is at best an uncertain ally. They are not comrades. Not a bit.
