Press Release

Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Applauds WTO IPR Case

WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez issued the following statement regarding the Bush Administration’s decision to request World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement consultations with the People’s Republic of China to assess certain aspects of China’s enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) and market access restrictions for publications, audiovisual and sound recording products.

“American companies lose billions of dollars annually because of intellectual property theft in China. Inadequate IPR enforcement and market access restrictions in China remain among the top trade barriers for foreign companies. While we would prefer to solve these issues through dialogue and negotiation, we have consistently demonstrated that we will not hesitate to pursue the WTO process to protect our rights and ensure China meets its WTO obligations.

“Often, diplomatic efforts, such as bilateral discussions are an effective means of resolving issues and promoting a healthy trading relationship. For many years, the United States and China have been working cooperatively to address bilateral issues and promote a fair trading environment, most notably through the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) and the newly formed U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. Through these mechanisms, the United States and China engage in frank and productive discussions on IPR and other pressing trade issues. Important progress on IPR has been made, including China’s commitments to require all computers manufactured or imported into China be preloaded with licensed operating systems, to crack down on Internet piracy, and to expand U.S.-China law enforcement cooperation on IPR cases.

“Despite this progress, the United States and China have been unable to reach an agreement on certain critical issues. Therefore the United States is utilizing available dispute settlement tools, including WTO consultations, to resolve them as we do in any mature trading relationship. We believe that bilateral dialogue and multilateral forums are both important tools for ensuring healthy and sustainable relations, and look forward to continuing our cooperative efforts on IPR and other trade issues in our bilateral discussions with China.”

More information regarding this WTO dispute settlement panel request can be found at www.ustr.gov.

More information regarding the Administration’s IPR efforts can be found at www.stopfakes.gov.