US not considering trade sanctions against Jamaica

www.jamaicaobserver.com TONY LOWRIE, Observer staff reporter Sunday, March 09, 2003

SAMUDA... feared Jamaica would be subject to US trade sanctions

A senior official in the United States embassy in Kingston has said that America was not considering trade sanctions against Jamaica although the island was on a Watch List for failure to enact trade laws protecting patents, industrial designs and plant variety.

According to Michael Koplowsky, political and economics chief at the US Embassy, although Jamaica has been placed on the Watch List for missing a January 1, 2000 deadline for enacting the appropriate legislation, the country was not currently in danger of facing US trade sanctions. KNIGHT... the new legislation will be introduced in Parliament early in the next legislative year

Koplowsky was responding to a concern raised by Opposition parliamentarian, Karl Samuda, last week that Washington could act against Kingston because of the Patterson Administration's failure to pass the law.

"If we don't enact the appropriate legislation I suspect we would be subject to trade sanctions because we are on the watch list and any country that is on that list can be subject to sanctions," Samuda had told the Sunday Observer.

But Koplowsky dismissed any consideration of trade sanctions, stating that "Jamaica has world class copyright protection, trademark protection and is making good efforts to negotiate the right agreements with copyright holders on cable broadcast and television programmes".

Samuda, the Opposition spokesman on industry and commerce, served notice at Tuesday's sitting of the Lower House that he would move a resolution calling on the Government "to table a report outlining the reasons for the inordinate delay in bringing this vital piece of legislation to Parliament".

Jamaica's delay in enacting the law has resulted in the United States trade representative, acting under "Special 301" section of the US trade law, placing Jamaica on a Watch List.

"Lack of parliamentary action to bring Jamaica's patent, industrial design, and plant variety laws into conformity with international standards remains the primary motivation for the country's inclusion on the Watch List," the US trade representative says in the Special 301 Report. "The United States urges Jamaica to complete the process of enacting the necessary legislation."

But the report praised Jamaica for the creation of an intellectual property office and for enforcing existing intellectual property rights laws, including the misuse of well-known marks.

Koplowsky said that the watch list is intended to draw attention to the need for countries, like Jamaica, to fulfil all international obligations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS). He said that because Jamaica has been on the Watch List for some years now, there may be some danger of the country being placed on the Priority Watch List following the current spring review.

He noted, however, that "Jamaica's patent law is dated 1857 and therefore does not provide the modern international patent protection required by the WTO". He said that this was important, "because when investors, especially manufacturers, are considering coming to the country to set up operations, issues of adequate intellectual property rights protection, particularly patent protection for industrial designs (an essential for high-tech industries) carry considerable weight in their decision".

Koplowsky said that trade sanctions were not the route of choice of the US Government and that when countries are placed in the highest list of Priority Foreign Countries, it is an indication that the United States is taking a case against them under the WTO.

He said, however, that there are certain US trade practices that are beneficial to other countries and "if such countries do not provide adequate intellectual property rights protection, those trade preferences could be in jeopardy".

In response to Samuda's motion, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister K D Knight told the Sunday Observer that the Government was aware that Jamaica had been placed on the watch list and that the new legislation would be introduced in Parliament during the early part of the next legislative year.

"The Government of Jamaica has all intention to ensure it complies with the WTO's TRIPS requirements and my ministry is making every effort to ensure that the appropriate legislation is enacted in the quickest possible time as we are acutely aware that the matter needs to be accorded the highest priority," said Knight.

Also included among the 33 countries currently on the US trade representative's Watch List are: The Bahamas, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Peru and Venezuela.

Among the 15 on the "Priority Watch List" are: Argentina, Brazil, The European Union, India, Russia and Uruguay.

The only "Priority Foreign Country" currently listed is the Ukraine.