THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Thailand is disappointed at the decision by the US not to remove the country from the Priority Watch List, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday. Mr Noppadon said the government had cooperated with the US in clamping down on pirated products which violate intellectual property rights and had taken action against counterfeiters.
Over the past year, 7,000 intellectual property violators faced legal action and 6.7 million fake products were destroyed in a show of Thailand's sincerity in tackling the problem, he said.
But the minister questioned why Thai efforts were seen as insufficient in the eyes of the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which refused to upgrade Thailand's status.
Thailand is one of nine countries on this year's Priority Watch List, which was announced in Washington on Friday. The others are China, Russia, Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Only Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Ukraine moved to the Watch List from the Priority Watch List.
The government's reaction to the USTR decision will be conveyed to Washington through US Under-Secretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla today, when he meets the foreign minister and Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan.
Mr Padilla is visiting Bangkok to attend a meeting of the US-Asean Business Council.
One of the reasons Thailand is on the list is because of the impact of compulsory licensing on medications, which has upset the pharmaceutical industry in the US.
Mr Noppadon did not mention this issue, but said the government will do more this year to improve intellectual property rights by amending some laws to better help authorities fight offenders
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