7
FACT SHEET
"SPECIAL 301" ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
ACTIONS TAKEN
Acting United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky today announced the Administration's decision with respect to this year's review under the so-called "special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act).
This decision reflects the Administration's continued commitment to aggressive enforcement of protection for intellectual property, which has been improving in part as a result of accelerated implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPs Agreement). The decision also reflects progress made over the course of 1995 in resolving many longstanding problems.
The decision announced by Ambassador Barshefsky includes the following specific actions:
- identifying China as a "priority foreign country;"
- placing eight trading partners on the "priority watch list" including Argentina, the European Union, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Turkey and conducting "out-of-cycle" reviews of Argentina and Greece;
- placing 26 trading partners on the "watch list" and conducting "out-of-cycle" reviews of El Salvador, Italy, the Philippines, Paraguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand; and
- invoking WTO dispute settlement procedures with respect to practices in Portugal, India, Pakistan and Turkey.
In addition, the Administration noted growing concerns in four trading partners and highlighted developments in and expectations for progress in 15 trading partners. Developments in five of these trading partners -- Bolivia, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, South Africa and Taiwan -- will be evaluated during the course of the year in out-of-cycle reviews.
The Administration reiterates its commitment to ensure full and effective implementation of the "special 301" provisions of the Trade Act and rapid implementation of the WTO TRIPs Agreement. The Administration will continue to encourage other countries to accelerate implementation of the WTO TRIPs agreement and move to even higher levels of IPR protection. To these ends, the Administration will continue to engage countries in dialogues not only aimed at resolving the problems that brought about their inclusion on the "special 301" lists, but also seeking an improvement in the overall level of intellectual property protection.
