US watch list
The Trump administration labelled 36 countries as inadequately protecting US intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.
washington — The Trump administration on Friday labelled 36 countries as inadequately protecting US intellectual property rights, keeping China on a priority watch list and adding Canada over concerns about its border controls and pharmaceutical practices.
The US Trade Representative’s annual report on global IP concerns is separate from the “Section 301” report on Chinese technology transfer practices that has led the world’s two largest economies to threaten each other with tariffs.
The so-called “Special 301 Re- port on Intellectual Property Rights” calls out China for its “coercive technology transfer practices” and “trade secret theft, rampant online piracy, and counterfeit manufacturing”.
It was the 14th straight year that China was placed on the “Priority Watch List”.
The report was met with objections from the Chinese commerce ministry, which said the United States lacks objective standards and fairness.
“The Chinese side opposes this, and urges the US to earnestly fulfill its bilateral commitments, respect the facts, and objectively, impartially, evaluate with positive intentions the efforts made by foreign governments including China in the area of intellectual property rights and the results achieved,” the ministry said in a statement on its website on Saturday.
Nafta talks
The increased criticism of Canada was revealed as Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was locked in intense negotiations with Lighthizer over updating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Washington has demanded that a modernisation of the 1994 pact include stronger IP protections.
Lighthizer, Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo are trying to work out a number of stumbling blocks in the Nafta talks, including auto content rules.
The office of Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who launched an intellectual property strategy on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ottawa is pledging to create an independent body to oversee patent and trademark issues, “which will ensure that professional and ethical standards are maintained.”
Colombia also was added to the Priority Watch List for failing to revise its copyright laws as required under a free trade agreement with the United States. — Reuters