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.