U.S. and Macau (2001)

Fact Sheet: "Special 301" Decision on Intellectual Property Rights

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

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APRIL 30, 2001

FACT SHEET

"SPECIAL 301" ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick today announced the Administration's decision with respect to this year's review under the so-called "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

This decision reflects the Administration's continued commitment to aggressive enforcement of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property protection standards and enforcement have improved in part as a result of implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). In addition, actions announced today reflect progress made since April 2000 in resolving many long-standing problems.

The decisions and progress announced by Ambassador Zoellick include the following:

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-- progress in a number of trading partners over the past year, including Italy, Turkey, Spain, Peru, Moldova, Guatemala, Ecuador, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

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-- monitoring China and Paraguay under Section 306 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. This means that USTR will be in a position to move directly to trade sanctions if there is slippage in either country's enforcement of bilateral intellectual property rights agreements.

-- placing 16 trading partners on the Special 301 Priority Watch List: Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, European Union, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, and Uruguay. Additionally, there will be an "out-of-cycle" review (OCR) scheduled for Costa Rica, and Malaysia.

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