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- multilateral negotiations to open world markets to U.S. exports; and (5) enhance U.S. monitoring and enforcement efforts.
- The report also highlights various successes that this Administration has had regarding implementation of the WTO commitments of our trading partners. The Administration has used U.S. trade tools (such as Super 301 and Section 1377), worked through WTO oversight bodies (such as the Committee on Agriculture), and pursued WTO dispute settlement to secure compliance with trade agreements. Some notable successes include:
- a commitment on the part of the Government of Israel to terminate its discriminatory access charge on calls to/from North America (part of this year's 1377 process);
- enhanced implementation of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (in the WTO Committee on Agriculture); and
- an agreement on expeditious elimination of India's import bans on 2,700 tariff lines of goods and a commitment by Canada to reduce its subsidized exports of dairy products (by prevailing in WTO dispute settlement).
- The Report also announces the use of WTO dispute settlement in four cases, covering auto investment measures in India and the Philippines and customs valuation practices in Brazil and Romania.
- Finally, the Super 301 Report identifies a number of country practices of significant concern, including EU Member State subsidization of Airbus, market access barriers in Japan's flat glass sector, and Mexico's customs valuation practices.
"SPECIAL 301" REPORT ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Ambassador Barshefsky also announced today the Administration's decision with respect to this year's review under the so-called "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
"This decision reflects the Administration's continued commitment to aggressive enforcement of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property protection standards and enforcement have improved in part as a result of implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). In addition, actions announced today reflect progress made over the course of 1999 in resolving many long-standing problems," she said.
- The decisions announced by Ambassador Barshefsky include specific actions:
- to invoke WTO dispute settlement consultation procedures with Argentina and Brazil, and to proceed to a WTO panel with Denmark unless progress is made.
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