More Than 50 Organizations Urge USTR to
Recognize India’s Harmful Trade Practices in Annual Report
Washington, D.C., February 24, 2014 – Today, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) applauded more than 50 business and advocacy organizations that sent a letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) urging Ambassador Michael Froman to designate India a Priority Foreign Country in its 2014 Special 301 Report.
Sent in advance of today’s Special 301 Public Review hearing, the letter cites India for its discriminatory trade practices and failure to adequately protect and enforce intellectual property (IP). Priority Foreign Country status is reserved for those nations that are the most egregious violators of IP rights and have the most negative impact on U.S. competitiveness abroad.
The USTR’s Special 301 Report is an annual accounting of all countries that deny adequate and effective protection of IP rights or fair and equitable market access to U.S. innovators. The Special 301 Subcommittee hearing comes just a week after the United States International Trade Commission held an investigatory hearing at the request of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.
“India’s egregious acts, policies and practices have a serious adverse impact on manufacturers in the United States and threaten further damage,” said NAM Vice President of International Economic Affairs and Alliance for Fair Trade with India Co-Chair Linda Dempsey. “India has contributed to a climate for IP rights protection and enforcement that consistently ranks worst or among the worst in the world. The USTR and other federal agencies must consider elevation to Priority Foreign Country.”
In the letter, the organizations highlighted that dialogue and diplomacy efforts, including meetings between the respective countries’ heads of state, have had no effect on India’s discriminatory practices. The letter goes on to detail some of India’s harmful trade policies, including revocation of patents, failure to enforce patents and undermining the safeguards for ideas and inventions.
The following is a list of organizations that signed the letter. The full text of the letter can be found here.
Analtech, Inc.
Associated Oregon Industries
Bio Houston
BioBuzz Workforce Foundation, Inc.
BioNJ
BioUtah
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Center for Healthcare Innovation
Center for Health Care Services
Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut
Chicago Life Sciences Consortium
Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry
Colorado BioScience Association
Colorado Competitive Council
Connecticut Retail Merchants Association
Denver Metro Chamber
Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce
Global Pharma Analytics, Inc.
GlycoMimetics
Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)
Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization—iBIO®
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
Indiana Health Industry Forum
Indiana Manufacturers Association
Iowa Association of Business and Industry
Life Sciences Greenhouse of Pennsylvania
MAC, Manufacturing Alliance of Connecticut, Inc.
Manufacturing Alliance of Connecticut
MichBio
Michigan Chamber of Commerce
Michigan Manufacturers Association
Mississippi Manufacturers Association
NC BIO
NC Biotechnology Center
Nevada Manufacturers Association
New Mexico Biotechnology & Biomedical Association
NJ Mayors Committee on Life Sciences
Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce
Rio Grande Valley Diabetes Association
Rush To Live
South Shore Chamber of Commerce
Tech Council of Maryland
Tech USA, LLC
Texas Association of Business
Texas BioAlliance
Texas Center for Health Care Services
Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute
Texas Life Science Foundation
Texas Nurse Practitioners
The Colorado Competitive Council
The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Bio
Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Small Business Partnership
Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA)
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The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs 12 million men and women, contributes $2.03 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for two-thirds of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.
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