Seoul: The United States has once again omitted South Korea from its annual lists of countries considered to have inadequate protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), according to a report released on Tuesday. In contrast, Mexico has been added to the "priority watch list."
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea has not appeared on any of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)'s IPR lists in the "Special 301 Report" since 2009. The report categorizes countries into the priority watch list, the watch list, and the "priority foreign country" list, the latter being the most severe classification.
Although South Korea was not included in the lists, the USTR did mention the country alongside others such as Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. The report highlighted concerns from U.S. pharmaceutical and medical device industries about issues related to pharmaceutical innovation and market access. "Stakeholders continue to report concerns regarding a lack of transparency in Korea's pricing and reimbursement policies for pharmaceuticals and medical devices," the report stated.
The priority watch list for this year includes Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela. Notably, Mexico, which was previously on the watch list, has been moved to the priority watch list due to significant intellectual property concerns, many of which are related to Mexico's implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trilateral free trade pact.
The watch list for this year consists of 18 countries, including Canada, Vietnam, and Thailand.