authorized software by government ministries. This year Colombia, Macau. Lebanon, and Taiwan have each issued similar decrees. Ambassador Barshefsky noted her pleasure that these governments have recognized the importance of setting an example in this area. The United States looks forward to the adoption of similar procedures in the near future by the governments of Spain and Israel. It also looks forward to the establishment of effective and transparent procedures to implement these decisions, and calls upon other governments to take this very important step prior to the conclusion of the Special 301 review in April 2001.
WTO Dispute Settlement
As in previous years, Ambassador Barshefsky is using the annual Special 301 announcement as a vehicle to announce the launch of WTO dispute settlement proceedings against countries that have not met their TRIPS obligations. A priority of this year's Special 301 review is the proper and timely implementation of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, particularly developing country implementation which was required as of January 1, 2000 for most obligations.
In December 1999, USTR initiated an out-of-cycle review of developing countries' progress toward implementing their TRIPS obligations. This review was conducted in tandem with this year's Special 301 review. In conducting the review, it was determined that the vast majority of developing countries have made a serious effort to comply with their TRIPS obligations, though further progress in the area of enforcement is particularly needed. The United States will continue to work with developing countries that are in the process of finalizing their implementation of the Agreement and expects further progress in the very near future to complete this process. However, in those instances where additional progress is not likely in the near term, or where we have been unable to resolve concerns through bilateral consultation, USTR is pursuing U.S. rights through WTO dispute settlement proceedings.
Specifically, Ambassador Barshefsky today announced the initiation of WTO dispute settlement proceedings against Argentina and Brazil, and that we will take the next step in our dispute with Denmark and request the establishment of a WTO panel unless progress is made imminently.
Argentina has failed to grant exclusive marketing rights for pharmaceuticals, despite being obliged to do so under the TRIPS Agreement, since Argentina does not provide patent protection for such products. In addition, Argentina fails to protect confidential test data submitted to government regulatory authorities for pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals. Other deficiencies in Argentina's patent law include the denial of certain exclusive rights for patents, such as the protection of products produced by patented processes and the right of importation; the failure to provide prompt and effective provisional measures to address patent infringement; and the exclusion of micro-organisms from patentability. Many of these deficiencies relate to concerns regarding Argentina's compliance with the TRIPS Agreement obligations that applied to Argentina as of January 1, 2000. As such, these claims are being added to the already
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