also shares the objective of continued improvement in the health and quality of life of its citizens, and the objective of delivering care in the most efficient and responsive way possible. The United States looks forward to engaging with these trading partners to address specific concerns related to reimbursements, regulatory policies, and transparency.
Implementation of the WTO TRIPS Agreement
The TRIPS Agreement, one of the most significant achievements of the Uruguay Round, requires all WTO members to provide certain minimum standards of IPR protection and enforcement. The TRIPS Agreement is the first broadly-subscribed multilateral IPR agreement that is subject to mandatory dispute settlement provisions.
Developed country members were required to implement the TRIPS Agreement fully as of January 1, 1996. Developing countries were given a transition period for many obligations until January 1, 2000, and in some cases, until January 1, 2005. Nevertheless, certain members are still in the process of finalizing implementing legislation, and many are still engaged in establishing adequate and effective IPR enforcement mechanisms.
Recognizing the particular challenges faced by least-developed countries (LDCs), in 2005 the United States worked closely with them and other WTO members to extend the implementation date for these countries from January 2006 to July 2013. The LDC members in turn pledged to preserve the progress that some have already made toward TRIPS Agreement implementation. Additionally, the LDC members have until 2016 to implement their TRIPS Agreement obligations for patent and data protection for pharmaceutical products, as proposed by the United States at the Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO. The United States looks forward to the successful completion of this transition.
The United States will continue to work with WTO members and expects further progress in the near term towards completing their TRIPS Agreement implementation process. However, in those instances in which additional progress is not achieved, the United States will consider alternative means of encouraging implementation, including the possibility of recourse to WTO dispute settlement.
The United States participates actively in the WTO TRIPS Council's scheduled reviews of WTO members' implementation of the TRIPS Agreement and also uses the WTO's Trade Policy Review mechanism to pose questions and seek constructive engagement on issues related to TRIPS Agreement implementation. Furthermore, the United States continues to work with other WTO members, including the EU, Japan, and Switzerland, to encourage a discussion within the WTO TRIPS Council on implementation of the enforcement-related provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. The United States hopes that the TRIPS Council can generate a useful sharing of experiences related to IPR enforcement to ensure effective implementation of enforcement obligations.
WTO Dispute Settlement
The United States will continue pursuing the resolution of WTO-related disputes announced in previous Special 301 reviews and determinations. The most efficient and preferred manner of
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