American investors wary of poor legal protection

American investors wary of poor legal protection

WASHINGTON (AFP): Lack of copyright protection and high tariffs are the chief U.S. complaints against Asian countries which maintain unacceptable trade barriers, according to a report.

India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, as well as major U.S. trade partners China and Japan, featured among the 45 countries cited in the annual report on foreign trade barriers to U.S. business.

The report, released Friday, is the first indication of what countries Washington may target for unilateral trade sanctions when it issues a list of such countries at the end of April.

It paid tribute to India's efforts to liberalize trade in recent years, but said that its "ban on consumer goods imports, quantitative restrictions ... and high tariffs remain a serious impediment to U.S. trade."

It noted that "Indian tariffs are still some of the highest in the world."

On the copyright front, it said that India had made progress on copyright, placing its laws on par with international practice, but said that "patent protection is weak and has especially adverse effects on U.S. pharmaceutical and chemical firms."

Indonesia

The report made similar complaints about Indonesia's lack of intellectual property protection, noting that the country had been on Washington's watch list because of inadequate protection of patents, trademarks and copyright since 1989 and saying many areas of concern remained.

South Korea has also reduced tariffs in recent years, "duties remain very high, however, on a large number of high-value agricultural and fisheries products."

The report also faulted Seoul for an array of non-tariff barriers, including a tendency to alter regulations with immediate effect, blocking shipments already en route, and unusually lengthy holdups for customs clearance.

And it expressed continued concern over South Korea's closed auto market, echoing persistent complaints against Japan.

The Seoul government has pledged to take action, such as abandoning threats of a tax audit for anyone buying a foreign car, but "the local press continues to signal that imports -- especially high-priced imports -- are undesirable," the report said.

Washington's aim "is to ensure that U.S. motor vehicles have the same access to the Korean market as Korean motor vehicles have to the U.S. market," the report added.

Malaysia was faulted for raising tariffs on some items, notably paper for cardboard boxes and plastic resins, last year, and for not allowing foreign banks to operate freely.

Pakistan faced the same charges as India -- high tariffs and lack of copyright protection.

Washington placed the country on a special watch list in 1989 for failure to protect intellectual property rights, and "copyright concern is an area of considerable concern to U.S. companies," the report said.

While the situation is improving in video piracy, progress also needs to be made elsewhere, it added.

The Philippines chiefly came under fire because it had "failed to consistently and effectively protect intellectual property rights," while Singapore was urged to improve implementation of its comprehensive copyright legislation.

Singapore was also faulted for "significant tariffs on a few products, including cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, automobiles and gasoline."

Taiwan was also criticized for high tariffs, and for excluding foreign firms from government procurement and telecommunications projects, and Thailand also came under fire for continuing high tariffs.

But the report said it had improved its copyright protection in the past year.