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need of such controls, including Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, have made insufficient progress. In contrast, the Government of Bulgaria has made dramatic progress in virtually eliminating the production of pirated optical media within its borders. Ambassador Barshefsky took special note of Bulgaria's progress by stating,
"The Government of Bulgaria has demonstrated its firm commitment to effective enforcement of its intellectual property laws and serves as a model for other economies which are at risk of developing unwanted production capacity of pirated optical media. In recognition of these efforts I am announcing today that Bulgaria is hereby removed from all Special 301 lists. In contrast, I look to Israel, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Ukraine, among others, to implement and enforce similar controls without further delay. I also look to Hong Kong and Macau to step up significantly enforcement of their existing regimes."
Government Use of Software
In October 1998, Vice President Al Gore announced a new Executive Order directing U.S. Government agencies to maintain appropriate, effective procedures to ensure legitimate use of software. The President also directed USTR to undertake an initiative over the following 12 months to work with other governments, particularly those in need of modernizing their software management systems or about which concerns have been expressed regarding inappropriate government use.
USTR has achieved considerable progress under this initiative since October. China, Paraguay, Colombia, the Phillippines and Jordan have all issued decrees mandating the use of only authorized software by government ministries. Ambassador Barshefsky noted, "I am pleased that these governments have recognized the importance of setting an example in this area. We look forward to the establishment of effective and transparent procedures to implement these decisions and call upon other governments to take this very important step prior to the conclusion of the Special 301 review in April 2000.
Ambassdor Barshefsky concluded by saying, "The progress we have achieved as a direct result of this year's Special 301 annual review underscores the fact that Special 301 remains one of the most effective instruments in our trade policy arsenal."
WTO Dispute Settlement
As in previous years, Ambassador Barshefsky again is using the occasion of the annual Special 301 announcement to announce the initiation of WTO dispute settlement proceedings against countries not meeting their obligations under the TRIPS Agreement. Ambassador Barshefsky today announced the initiation of WTO dispute settlement proceedings against Argentina, Canada and the EU.
Argentina does not currently provide patent protection for pharmaceuticals, and is therefore required under Article 70.9 of TRIPS to provide exclusive marketing rights to pharmaceutical
