NEW YORK-- May 13, 2021 -- A group of 16 international business and policy leaders today published an open letter to U.S. President Joseph R. Biden calling on him to “demonstrate decisive U.S. leadership now” to combat increasingly deadly Covid-19 outbreaks in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

“The U.S. must act now to leverage rapidly increasing U.S. domestic vaccine production, export ever-larger volumes of our surplus supplies, and go to work on the massive technical and logistical challenges to vaccine development on a global scale,” the letter says, noting the rampant spread of the virus in places like India and the Philippines and the likelihood for mutations that will perpetuate globally if left unchecked.

The letter also expresses opposition to the intellectual property waiver being promoted by the World Trade Organization, saying the move “would make little difference and could do harm” by not considering the steps necessary for safely manufacturing the vaccines.

The full text of the letter is attached. Initiated by Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of C. V. Starr & Co., Inc., the letter is also signed by: Ken Langone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health; Secretary William Cohen; Noel V. Lateef, Foreign Policy Association; Ambassador Carla A. Hills; Ambassador John D. Negroponte; Ambassador John F. Maisto; Alexander Feldman, U.S. ASEAN Business Council; Suzanne Clarke, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Michelle McMurray-Heath, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO); Adam S. Posen, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Hank Hendrickson, U.S. Philippines Society; Dr. John J. Hamre, Center for Strategic & International Studies; Dimitri Simes, Center for the National Interest; Ambassador Mark Green; and Dr. Robert Goldberg, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.