Trade Representative, Office of United States July 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in the preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2242), requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify trading partners that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. (Section 182 is commonly referred to as the ``Special 301'' provisions of the Trade Act.) In addition, the USTR is required to determine which of these trading partners should be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts, policies or practices that are the basis of a trading partner's identification as a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject of an investigation under the Section 301 provisions of the Trade Act. On April 25, 2008, USTR announced the results of the 2008 Special 301 Review and stated that an Out-of-Cycle Review of Taiwan would be conducted this year. Pursuant to this Out-of-Cycle Review, USTR requests written submissions from the public concerning acts, policies, and practices regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection and enforcement in Taiwan.