Tech Trade Group Says USTR Should Expand Use of GSP Reviews to Push IP Issues
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should expand its use of the Generalized System of Preferences to encourage beneficiaries to make policy and enforcement changes, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a report released Aug. 20. The agency's foreign trade barrier and intellectual property reports should more directly guide decisions "to self-initiate reviews of whether GSP beneficiaries are breaching the program’s trade, market access, or intellectual property criteria," the ITIF said. The USTR is already reviewing GSP benefits for Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey over various issues (see 1808150034).
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Additionally, if the GSP reviews don't produce the intended changes, "USTR should partially or fully suspend or withdraw that country’s access to GSP benefits -- as this has clearly dragged on for far too long for many GSP beneficiaries," the ITIF said. "For instance, since 2009, Argentina, India, Indonesia, and Thailand have all been on USTR’s annual Special 301 Report’s Priority Watch List of countries with an especially poor record of protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights. Similarly, Brazil has regularly appeared on the second-tier Watch List, while Ukraine has been on the Priority Watch List more often than not." The criteria for GSP "graduation," based on income and trade competitiveness, should be more strictly enforced, it said. That should start "with revoking Turkey’s access to the program," the ITIF said.