FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2018 kim.treanor@keionline.org (202)-332-2670 A coalition of 16 advocacy organizations in the United States and Korea asked trade negotiators in the U.S. and Korea to reject the demands of the pharmaceutical industry, protect human rights, and… Continue Reading
On March 8, 2018, USTR and the interagency committee on the Special 301 held a hearing. KEI was one of the groups testifying. More on this process here: https://keionline.org/ustr/special301 I began our oral testimony discussing President Trump’s promise, during the… Continue Reading
USTR just sent out the schedule for the Special 301 hearing on March 8, 2018. 21 trade associations, civil society NGOs and academies will testify. Everyone is given 10 minutes, including questions, but persons testifying can provide additional materials to… Continue Reading
2000 SPECIAL 301 REPORT United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky today announced the results of the 2000 “Special 301” annual review which examined in detail the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection in over 70 countries. Ambassador Barshefsky also… Continue Reading
The USTR’s Special 301 Report has been issued every year beginning in 1989. The Executive Summary of the 2009 report says: The “Special 301” Report is an annual review of the global state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and… Continue Reading
Wednesday, March 8, 2017, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will hold the first Special 301 Hearing of the Trump administration. This year, USTR received 63 submissions in advance fo the hearing from governments, civil society organizations, and industry groups.
This blog post pulls out interesting selections from the various submissions, and includes as attachments the submissions of selected organizations.
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On February 9, 2017, KEI filed written comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Review process.
The Special 301 Review is an annual process carried out by the USTR to, “to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.”
Among the comments that KEI filed today in the 2014 Special 301 Review process were comments regarding pharmaceutical companies’ donation and patient assistance programs. An oft-cited claim by pharmaceutical companies and those lobbying on their behalf is that donations and patient assistance programs fully provide for those that cannot afford the high priced medications offered by the companies. Continue Reading
The following are four US Department of State cables discussing the status of Thailand as regards the USTR Special 301 review. KEI recently received the cables from the US Department of State in response to an earlier FOIA request.