KEI has asked 21 persons following the TPP IPR negotiations, what they thought of four of the USTR negotiators, including:
- Ambassador and USTR head Michael Froman,
- TPP Chief negotiator Barbara Weisel
- Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation Stanford McCoy, and
- Deputy Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation Probir Mehta.
The survey was carried out from October 18 to October 23, 2013. The persons invited to answer the survey were limited to individuals who have followed the TPP IPR negotiations, were able to comment on the USTR negotiators, and represented consumer interests in the negotiation. 20 of 21 persons responding said they have followed the negotiations “closely.” One had followed the IP negotiations “somewhat.”
For each of the four USTR negotiators, two multiple choice questions were asked.
How well informed about civil society concerns is ____________?
- Demonstrates deep and sophisticated understanding of civil society concerns
- Some superficial but shallow or inaccurate understanding of civil society concerns
- No evidence of understanding civil society concerns
- Other (please specify)
Which terms describes ____________’s approach to IPR trade policy? (Check all that apply)
- Considers evidence of the impact of policies on people
- Defends the interests of the poor
- Responds to pressure from corporate right holder groups
- Follows the USTR tradition of advocating on behalf of right holders, uncomfortable advocating on behalf of consumers
Next, we asked, which USTR officials seem to represent President Obama’s promise of hope, change and concern for the poor?
This was followed by three questions, asking which negotiator was “Most likely to eventually take a job working for” PhRMA, the MPAA or Oxfam?
Finally, the survey asked the open ended question: “How would you describe __________”
The survey form is here. The results of the survey are here.