[Ecommerce] IP Watch: FTA with high IP for Middle East...

[Manon Ress]

Intellectual Property Watch weblog.

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index_test.php?p=3D27

14/3/2005
U.S. Seeks =93High Level=94 IP Agreements In Middle East

by William New @ 9:41 pm

Washington, D.C.=96U.S. trade negotiators working toward bilateral free
trade agreements with Middle Eastern countries are seeking to maintain
the same level of intellectual property rights protection achieved in
other bilateral deals, a U.S. trade official said Monday.

=93We want to have high standards=94 on intellectual property, Catherine
Novelli, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the
Mediterranean, said in a telephone press briefing. The agreements the
United States has negotiated so far contain =93high level=94 provisions on
intellectual property rights, she said, adding, =93We would expect these
to be the same.=94

High quality intellectual property provisions not only benefit the
United States, but they are good for those countries that want to be
able to attract high-tech, high-quality jobs, she said.

Novelli spoke at the conclusion of the first round of separate bilateral
negotiations with Oman and the United Arab Emirates, which she is leading.

She said progress with the two nations was so rapid that they expect to
conclude and sign the agreements by year=92s end if not sooner. With Oman,
agreement has been reached on some aspects of the proposed treaty text
tabled by the United States, Novelli said, though she would not specify
which areas were under agreement already. Labor provisions also are
expected to be the same too, she said.

The larger U.S. goal is to have an overarching regional trade agreement
by 2013, and each of the individual bilateral agreements is seen as a
step toward that goal. Each agreement turns out differently, depending
on the situation of each country. With Egypt, Qatar and Kuwait,
expert-to-expert meetings are being held on specific areas, she said,
adding that the Bush administration hopes to get approval for its
agreement with Bahrain this summer, Novelli said. She did not rule out
Israel being part of the agreement eventually.

If the region were counted as a whole, it would be the United States=92
seventh-largest trading partner, she said.

The second round with Oman is scheduled for April 18, with the United
Arab Emirates in the week to follow.



--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC PO Box 19367,
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