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.