[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 126 (Thursday, July 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 31789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15608]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


Petition Under Section 301 on Israel's Protection of Intellectual 
Property Rights; Decision Not To Initiate Investigation

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Decision not to initiate investigation.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has determined 
not to initiate an investigation under section 301 of the Trade Act of 
1974 with respect to a petition alleging that the Government of Israel 
has breached obligations under the WTO Agreement to protect 
intellectual property rights (IPR).

DATES: Effective Date: June 25, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Choe Groves, Senior Director 
for Intellectual Property and Innovation and Chair of the Special 301 
Committee, (202) 395-4510; or William Busis, Associate General Counsel 
and Chair of the Section 301 Committee, (202) 395-3150.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 13, 2009, the Institute for Research: 
Middle Eastern Policy (IRMEP) filed a petition pursuant to section 302 
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the Trade Act)(19 U.S.C. 2412), 
alleging that acts, policies and practices of the Government of Israel 
are inconsistent with the obligations of Israel under Article 39 of the 
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 
(TRIPS Agreement), among other allegations. The petition presents five 
separate ``complaints'' involving: (1) Access to a 1985 classified 
report relating to the negotiation of the U.S.-Israel FTA; (2) 
military-industrial espionage; (3) intellectual property rights of U.S. 
pharmaceutical firms; (4) the use of the proceeds from diamond exports; 
and (5) the conduct of pro-Israel lobbyists. The petition alleges that 
the bilateral U.S.-Israel trade deficit results from the matters 
complained of in the petition, and that the bilateral trade deficit 
results in the loss of U.S. jobs. The petition requests the Trade 
Representative to ``immediately suspend the U.S.-Israel FTA until such 
time as IRMEP's complaints are addressed and Israel has provided 
damages for past violations of IP rights.''
    The Trade Representative has decided not to initiate an 
investigation regarding the petition on three separate grounds. First, 
IRMEP--which describes itself as an organization involved in Middle 
Eastern policy formulation--fails to allege the ``significant 
interest'' necessary to have standing to file a petition addressed to 
an alleged denial of U.S. IP rights. Second, the initiation of a 
Section 301 investigation in response to the petition would not be an 
effective means to address the matters raised in the petition. Most of 
the matters raised in the petition are unconnected to the alleged 
breach of Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement. And, to the extent the 
petition does describe any TRIPS Agreement issues, those issues would 
be addressed more effectively through the established Special 301 
process and the on-going Out-of-Cycle Review of Israel's IPR protection 
(see pp.19-20 of the 2009 Special 301 Report at http://www.ustr.gov for 
a description of the Out-of-Cycle Review of Israel). Third, the 
petition seeks a form of relief--the immediate suspension of the US-
Israel FTA without any form of investigation or dispute settlement--not 
provided for under the Section 301 statute.

Daniel Brinza,
Assistant United States Trade Representative for Monitoring and 
Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E9-15608 Filed 7-1-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P