U.S.: No Trade Friction With China, Despite Piracy Complaint
Annalisa Burgos
New U.S. litigation against China--meant to boost protection of intellectual property rights--is not expected to increase trade tensions between the two countries, a U.S. trade official told Melissa Francis on “Closing Bell.”
“The pirates and counterfeiters have had free reign for too long,” said Susan Schwab, deputy United States trade representative. “Leading Chinese government officials know this is a problem for China, that China in its own best interest needs to resolve this, but it is a multifaceted problem and in some cases, they’re just not moving fast enough or aggressive enough to address the problems at hand.”
U.S. trade officials on Tuesday will file complaints with the World Trade Organization against China, accusing the country of failing to enforce protection of intellectual materials and failing to regulate market access to such property. An estimated 500 million unauthorized books and 120 million pirated music albums and videos are produced in China annually.
The move comes ahead of an official Chinese delegation's visit in May. China's vice premier, Wu Yi, and representatives from 111 Chinese companies will visit the U.S. for talks on easing trade tensions.
Schwab said such litigation is typical in every mature trading relationship, including the one between the European Union and the United States, which has a fair number of disputes.
