Washington: The United States placed Russia on its list of countries with the worst records of preventing copyright theft for 13th straight year, just days after the two nations agreed to intensify talks on Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
The US Trade Representative's office also put China on its "priority watch list" for the sixth consecutive year and Canada for the second. The list carries no threat of sanctions, but aims to shame governments into cracking down on piracy and updating their copyright laws.
"Intellectual property theft in overseas markets is an export killer for American businesses and a job killer for American workers here at home," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.
USTR also put Algeria, Argentina, Chile, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Venezuela on its priority watch list.
All the priority countries will be "the subject of particularly intense engagement through bilateral discussion during the coming year," USTR said.
Comments
0 comment