USTR Seeks Comments on Identifying Countries Under "Special 301
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by noon on February 13, 2004 regarding whether any foreign countries should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 USC 2242), which is commonly referred to as the "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act.
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Pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act, the USTR states that it must identify those countries that deny adequate and effective protection for intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. Those countries that have the most onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on relevant U.S. products are to be identified as priority foreign countries. According to USTR, acts, policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's designation as a priority foreign country are normally the subject of an investigation under the Section 301 provisions of the Trade Act.
USTR requests that, where relevant, submissions mention particular regions, provinces, or states of a country whose act, policy, or practice deserve special highlighting in this year's report. USTR states that such mention may be positive or negative, so long as it deviates from the general norm in that country.
The USTR also states that under Section 182, it is obligated to identify any act, policy, or practice of Canada that affects U.S. cultural industries, is adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992, and is actionable under Article 2106 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
According to USTR, it must make the above-referenced identifications within 30 days after publication of the National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, i.e., no later than April 30, 2004.
- comments due by noon on Friday, February 13, 2004
USTR contact - Mark Wu (202) 395-6864
USTR notice (FR Pub 01/06/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-213.pdf