New USTR Report On China WTO Compliance

The Office of the United States Trade Representative released 23 December a report to the US Congress concerning China’s compliance with its obligations under the World Trade Organization.

It is available here.

The report examines China’s commitments over a list of broad categories: trading rights, distribution services, import regulation, export regulation, internal policies affecting trade, investment, agriculture, intellectual property rights, services, and overall legal framework (such as transparency).

This is the eighth report to Congress concerning China and the WTO; the reports are required by the US-China Relations Act of 2000.

On IP issues, it says that China has committed to stronger enforcement against piracy online and counterfeit pharmaceuticals. In 2009, two IP-related decisions under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism were made in favour of the United States, the report says (though China does not necessarily agree with this assessment). These decisions concern aspects of China’s legal regime for protecting copyrights and trademarks, and market access for copyright-driven products such as music, movies, and print media (IPW, 22 December 2009, 24 March 2009)

IP rights, the report adds, are a key priority area for US relations with China, as their “effective enforcement … remains a significant challenge.”