Comments of Public Citizen for the 2017 Special 301 Review

Comments of Public Citizen for the 2017 Special 301 Review

Every year as part of its Special 301 Review process, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) solicits “written submissions from the public concerning foreign  countries’  acts,  policies,  or  practices  that  are  relevant  to  the  decision  whether  a particular trading partner should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act.”

Public Citizen’s comments call for eliminating Special 301, the U.S. government’s annual intellectual property (IP) watch list, which is a lobbyist-driven bully exercise at the expense of people everywhere. The comments establish minimum principles to which any 301-type process must nevertheless adhere, including  omitting any reference to a country’s TRIPS-compliant policies that advance a public interest. The comments also provide analysis of laws and public interest policy developments in countries that USTR has previously watch-listed, including: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Peru, Turkey and Vietnam.

Find the full comments in pdf form here.