Taiwan Staying Off the US Special 301 List for Five Straight Years.

The USTR (The Office of the United States Trade Representative) released the 2013 Special 301 Report on May 1, 2013.  The US has left Taiwan off the Special 301 List for 5 consecutive years in virtue of Taiwan’s strengthened and sustained IPR protection and legal regime reformation.  For 2013 Special 301 Report, the USTR reviewed 95 trading partners of the US and placed 41 countries on the Priority Foreign Country, Priority Watch List, or Watch List. 

The USTR praises and indicates positive developments implemented in Taiwan that Taiwan’s government passed amendments to the Trade Secrets Act in January 2013 to increase criminal penalties for trade secret misappropriation, including enhanced sanctions of up to 10 years imprisonment for deterring cross-border trade secrets theft. 

China, along with Algeria, Argentina, Chile, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela, are put on the Priority Watch List.  The USTR reports grave concerns about misappropriation of trade secrets and other significant IPR and market access challenges in China as identified in the report. 

In addition, the USTR designates Ukraine a Priority Foreign Country under the Special 301 Statute.  The government of Ukraine has earned the first new Priority Foreign Country designation in 7 years due to its severe deterioration in the areas of government use of pirated software and piracy over the Internet.  The USTR calls upon that government of Ukraine should swiftly seek a resolution of the severely deteriorating climate for IPR protection and market access in Ukraine.

The USTR also announces that they will still conduct out-of-cycle reviews to assess progress of IPR challenges of El Salvador and Spain which are not listed in the 2013 report.  Moreover, Canada moves from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List owing to their significant progress on copyright protection.  Brunei also moves off of the Special 301 Watch List. 

USTR adds that the ten countries on the Priority Watch List will not confront immediate trade retaliation but USTR will seek to engage intensively with these countries in bilateral negotiations during the coming year.  (2013.05)
/CCS