[A2k] USTR Special 301 Report: US Dictates Domestic Policies on Intellectual Property to Foreign Nations

[Robin Gross]

2007 USTR =93Special 301 Report=94:
US Dictates Domestic Policies on Intellectual Property to Foreign Nations
By Robin Gross - 30 April 2007

http://ipjustice.org/wp/2007/04/30/2007ustr301report/

The Bush Administration=92s Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)
issued its much anticipated annual report
<http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2007/2007=
_Special_301_Review/asset_upload_file643_11122.pdf>
of foreign countries targeted by the US for insufficiently protecting
the interests of US intellectual property owners abroad. Under =93Section
301=94 countries face crippling trade sanctions in retaliation from the US.

A total of 43 countries were placed on the USTR's Section 301 Report in
2007. According to the annual review, US monopolies on producing
medicine, CDs, and DVDs continue to be the main focus of US IPR foreign
policy.

China and Russia received a special lashing from the Bush Administration
and were placed on the more serious "Priority Watch List" - as expected.
According to the USTR, "Priority Watch List countries will be the
subject of particularly intense engagement through bilateral discussion
during the coming year."

The 12 countries targeted on Priority Watch List (PWL) are Argentina,
Chile, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Thailand, Turkey,
Ukraine, and Venezuela. Of those countries, only Thailand was not given
the PWL status in 2006, marking heightened attention for Thailand.

The USTR stated that the 30 countries on the lower Watch List will also
be the subject of bilateral negotiations in 2007.

The USTR's "Watch List" status includes: Belarus, Belize, Bolivia,
Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Kuwait, Lithuania,
Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi
Arabia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Paraguay is again being monitored subject to Section 306 under a
bi-lateral "Memorandum of Understanding" that outlines Paraguay's
objectives and actions for protecting US IPR interests in that country.

The report underscores that bi-lateral agreements, often mis-labeled as
"Free Trade Agreements" continue to be the main game for the US to
impose IPR rules on other countries. But according to Joseph Stiglitz, a
Nobel Prize winning Chief Economist at the World Bank from 1997-2000,
these free trade agreements "are neither fair nor free"
<http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=3D7076>.

The Special 301 Report reveals how US IPR foreign policy smacks of
imperialism by forcing countries to change their laws and social
practices to conform with US interests. And the report does not reflect
the true US interest, but rather a narrow special interest: the powerful
lobby that consists mainly of US movie and recording companies together
with Big Pharma.

Furthermore, the report does not evaluate whether or not foreign
countries meet their obligations under international IP treaties such as
TRIPS -- many of the targeted countries do, such as Canada, Brazil, and
Italy.

And while foreign countries are forced to enact many of the more
restrictive IPR provisions found in the US, none of the balance found in
the US, such as fair use or reverse engineering are permitted in the
foreign country=92s =93reformed=94 intellectual property laws. Technologica=
l
innovation, access to knowledge and medicines, and free expression
depend upon these legal limitations to a monopolist's power.

IP Justice prepared a table that summarizes the USTR Special 301 Reports
from 2004-2006.
<http://www.ipjustice.org/archive/USTR_Section_301_Reports.htm>