The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2024 Special 301 report has once again included India in the ‘priority watch list’ of countries, along with China, Russia, Venezuela, and three others, for alleged problems related to IP (intellectual property) protection and enforcement.
- It says that there will be particularly intense bilateral engagement on the matter during the coming year.
Key points
- The USTR releases the Special 301 Report annually, high- lighting the state of IP protection and enforcement regimes in various countries it trades with.
- India has been on the ‘priority watch’ list of countries for many years, which, according to the USTR office, indicates that serious problems exist in the country concerning IP protection, enforcement, or market access for Americans relying on IP.
- India has always maintained that its intellectual property laws were in strict adherence to the WTO’s Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and that it was not bound by any global rules to make changes in its laws.
- No action is threatened by the US against countries on the ‘priority watch list’, but if a country slips further and is categorised a ‘priority country’, the US may impose ‘retaliatory’ measures.
