October 19,2007

Baucus Applauds Anti-Counterfeiting Negotiations by USTR

Finance Chairman recently called for new WTO agreement to protect American ideas, intellectual property

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
welcomed news today that the United States Trade Representative will launch
negotiations for a new agreement to combat intellectual property counterfeiting and
piracy abroad. The agreement Ambassador Susan Schwab hopes to strike would
establish a common standard for intellectual property enforcement among nations
committed to strong intellectual property protection. In a recent speech before the New
Democrat Network, Senator Baucus called for negotiations on a new, even larger
intellectual property agreement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would
strengthen the current obligations under the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights Agreement.

“Intellectual property thieves aren’t just stealing American ideas, they’re stealing
dollars from U.S. businesses and stealing jobs out from under U.S. workers. And
the problem of intellectual property theft is rampant worldwide,” Baucus said. “I
have called for an intellectual property agreement in the World Trade Organization, and I hope today’s announcement of negotiations is a first step toward that goal. Ideas are America’s true currency, and if we want to be economically competitive, strong protections for U.S. intellectual property are key.”

Baucus said today that he will work with Ambassador Schwab to expand protection and
enforcement of U.S. intellectual property abroad through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement and, eventually, though a new plurilateral WTO agreement.

# # #