[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 88 (Monday, May 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 26786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6926]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Identification of Countries That Deny Adequate Protection, or 
Market Access, for Intellectual Property Rights Under Section 182 of 
the Trade Act of 1974

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR) has submitted its annual report on the 
identification of those foreign countries that deny adequate and 
effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and 
equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon 
intellectual property protection, and those foreign countries 
determined to be priority foreign countries, to the Committee on 
Finance of the United States Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means 
of the United States House of Representatives, pursuant to section 182 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242).

DATES: This report was submitted on April 28, 2006 and is available on 
USTR's Web site at http://www.ustr.gov.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Choe Groves, Director for 
Intellectual Property and Chair of the Special 301 Committee at (202) 
395-4510.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 
1974, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 
and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (enacted in 1994), under Special 
301 provisions, USTR must identify those countries that deny adequate 
and effective protection for IPR or deny fair and equitable market 
access for persons that rely on intellectual property protection. 
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 the relevant U.S. products must 
be designated as ``Priority Foreign Countries.''
    Priority Foreign Countries are potentially subject to an 
investigation under the section 301 provisions of the Trade Act of 
1974. USTR may not designate a country as a Priority Foreign Country if 
it is entering into good faith negotiations or making significant 
progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations to provide adequate 
and effective protection of IPR.
    USTR must decide whether to identify countries within 30 days after 
issuance of the annual National Trade Estimate Report. In addition, 
USTR may identify a trading partner as a Priority Foreign Country or 
remove such identification whenever warranted.
    USTR has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' under 
Special 301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority 
Watch List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in 
that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market 
access for persons relying on intellectual property. Countries placed 
on the Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral 
attention concerning the problem areas.
    Additionally, under section 306, USTR monitors a country's 
compliance with bilateral intellectual property agreements that are the 
basis for resolving an investigation under Section 301. USTR may apply 
sanctions if a country fails to satisfactorily implement an agreement.
    The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee that advises USTR on 
the implementation of Special 301 obtains information from and holds 
consultations with the private sector, U.S. embassies, the United 
States' trading partners, the U.S. Congress, and the National Trade 
Estimate Report, among other sources.
    The Special 301 Report is available on USTR's Web site at http://www.ustr.gov.
    On April 28, 2006, USTR identified 48 trading partners that deny 
adequate and effective protection of intellectual property or deny fair 
and equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon 
intellectual property protection.
    USTR announced that China and Russia remain significant concerns. 
China is a top IPR enforcement priority; USTR will maintain heightened 
scrutiny of China, will step up consideration of its WTO dispute 
settlement options, and will scrutinize IPR protection and enforcement 
at China's provincial level by conducting a special provincial review 
in the coming year. The China section of the report recognizes China's 
efforts to address IPR problems but concludes that IPR infringements 
throughout China remain at unacceptable levels.
    The Russia section of the report notes that although Russia has 
taken some steps to curb pirate production of optical discs in 
factories, particularly those located on government-owned property, 
high levels of IPR infringement remain, particularly infringements 
connected with Russia-based optical disc plants and Web sites.
    USTR again designated Paraguay for section 306 monitoring to ensure 
its compliance with the commitments made to the United States under 
bilateral intellectual property agreements.
    USTR also announced the placement of 13 trading partners on the 
Priority Watch List: China, Russia, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Egypt, 
India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venezuela. In 
addition, USTR placed 34 trading partners on the Watch List: Bahamas, 
Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 
Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, European Union, Guatemala, 
Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, 
Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi 
Arabia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and 
Vietnam.
    USTR will conduct out-of-cycle reviews of Canada, Chile, Indonesia, 
Latvia, and Saudi Arabia.

Victoria Espinel,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property.
 [FR Doc. E6-6926 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W6-P