WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President of the Global Innovation Policy Center Patrick Kilbride issued the following statement in response to the release of the 2019 Special 301 Report by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR):
“In today’s knowledge based world, intellectual property (IP) is critical. We commend the approach taken by this administration to prioritize global IP concerns, as illustrated by USTR’s 2019 Special 301 Report. The U.S. Chamber supports the administration’s continued engagement with foreign governments to strengthen IP, including the countries that the Chamber highlighted in its special 301 submission: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, and Switzerland.
“Despite steps in the right direction, overall global IP laws remain under-developed, denying cutting-edge American businesses a return of fair value on their innovations and creativity, and leaving many countries unprepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of a 21st century knowledge economy. Lack of enforcement to protect copyright rights-holders; misuse of competition enforcement; price controls; compulsory licenses;andundermining IP protections throughmultilateral organizations favor domestic commercial interests at the expense of innovators, creators, and consumers around the world.
“That said, the USMCA and the forthcoming FTAs provide an opportunity to strengthen IP protections around the world. We applaud the negotiation team on the completion of the USMCAand urge Members of Congress to recognize the benefits of the agreement. GIPC benchmarked the USMCA against the IP standards included in the U.S. Chamber’s International IP Index. The research reveals a significant improvement from the original NAFTA, which scored a mere 48 percent while the USMCA scored 80 percent.”
BACKGROUND
The U.S. Chamber’s Special 301 Submission to USTR provided an overall analysis of both systemic and country-specific issues that framed the global IP trends, including analysis from the Chamber’s 2019 International IP Index. The Index is an empirical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the IP environments in 50 developmentally and geographically diverse countries, collectively representing over 90 percent of global gross domestic product.
The Chamber’s Global Innovation Policy Center is working around the world to champion intellectual property (IP) rights as vital to creating jobs, saving lives, advancing global economic growth, and generating breakthrough solutions to global challenges.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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