A new report released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative stressed the importance of intellectual property (IP) around the world, and the danger of global IP infringement for American jobs, innovation, and competitiveness. Intellectual property protection is a top manufacturing issue: innovation drives U.S. global leadership in manufacturing, and promote good-paying jobs and economic growth in a sector that is innovating more than ever before. This year’s Special 301 report highlights specific challenges faced by manufacturers in the United States in NAM priority markets such as Colombia, India, and China. The report also analyzes global challenges such as weak trade secret protection, counterfeiting and piracy, and inadequate protection of patents in detail.
“Intellectual property is a critical source of economic growth and high-quality jobs for the United States, and it is more important than ever to prevent foreign governments and competitors from ripping off United States innovators who are trying to support high-paying jobs by exporting their goods and services to consumers around the world,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a USTR press release.
In a submission in early February, the NAM had identified major IPR problems in 11 foreign countries, focusing on a “top five” group of countries with significant IPR challenges: Canada, China, Colombia, India and Russia. NAM’s submission also highlighted cross-cutting concerns that impact manufacturers in global markets, including the lack of effective trade secrets protection, rampant counterfeiting and piracy and challenges to IPR in international forums. All five priority countries named by the NAM appeared in the final report either as a “priority watch list” or a “watch list” country.
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ShopFloor is the blog of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
