By Reuters Staff

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       FILE PHOTO: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies during a hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2021. Bill O'Leary/Pool via REUTERS

       WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Tuesday that she was still engaged in negotiations with World Trade Organization members on ways improve the supply and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, including a proposed waiver of intellectual property rights for the vaccines.

       In remarks prepared for delivery to a U.S.-Africa business summit, she did not divulge any progress in the talks since she announced the Biden administration’s support for the waiver championed by South Africa and India in May.

       “This is an important moment for the WTO to show that it can step up in a global crisis and act efficiently to improve the lives of ordinary people,” Tai said in her remarks.

       Reporting by David Lawder

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