Hatch Addresses Challenges, Opportunities on Intellectual Property Rights
Utah Senator Says, "I think you will see strong determination on the part of this administration to bring about improved IP regimes in Canada and Mexico through the NAFTA negotiations.”
Chairman Hatch delivers remarks at the Action for TRADE kickoff on Sept. 26, 2017.
WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today gave remarks at an ACTION for Trade kickoff event. ACTION for Trade is a coalition of trade associations, tech companies and creative organizations dedicated to advancing a pro-creativity and innovation agenda in trade. During his speech, Hatch focused on the importance of higher intellectual property (IP) standards and more vigorous enforcement as the United States updates trade agreements and seeks to resolve global challenges facing America’s innovative and creative industries.
“All of us must work together to defend and promote American intellectual property rights around the globe,” Hatch said. “I think you will see strong determination on the part of this administration to bring about improved IP regimes in Canada and Mexico through the NAFTA negotiations. And, I hope the model established under NAFTA will be repeated in future trade agreements with partners in the Asia-Pacific.”
NOTE: A longtime advocate of establishing enforceable international rules for U.S. firms and workers doing business overseas, Hatch has fought to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) standards around the world. Hatch authored legislation to increase U.S. enforcement of American intellectual property rights overseas, including improvements to the Special 301 mechanism and the establishment of a Chief Intellectual Property Negotiator at Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Hatch also spearheaded efforts in Congress to enact bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to help open more markets for U.S. exports and strengthen IPR protections in U.S. trade agreements, and led enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016.
The complete speech as prepared for delivery is below:
As we look around the world, we see unprecedented challenges for America’s artists, inventors, discoverers, and designers. All of us must work together to defend and promote American intellectual property rights around the globe. So thank you again to Steve and Brian and everyone here today who is ready to be part of this effort.
The associations and businesses that form ACTION for Trade represent millions of American jobs.
In fact, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office estimates that IP-intensive industries directly employ 28 million Americans, and are responsible for 45.5 million jobs overall.
That’s nearly 30 percent of the American workforce.
Maintaining these jobs and, hopefully, creating millions more, requires our manufacturers, creators, and service providers that have invested heavily in innovation to have access to foreign markets. That only happens when foreign governments respect and protect U.S. intellectual property rights.
Currently, the United States has a competitive advantage in innovation. It’s not a natural advantage. In other words, there’s nothing that inherently makes Americans better innovators than the rest of the world.
Instead, we have an acquired advantage.
Since the time our nation was founded, American businesses and government have worked together to protect intellectual property to encourage innovation. It began with the Constitution, which granted to Congress the power to “promote the progress of science and the useful arts” through patents and copyrights, and continues today. We have a system that, as a bedrock principle, protects the property rights of America’s innovators, recognizing the benefits their creations offer to society.
That system, though it may not be perfect, is the source of our nation’s innovation advantage.
I have worked during my 40 years in the Senate to ensure we have the necessary conditions to allow innovative and creative industries to grow and thrive.
It started when I first came to the Senate and I haven’t slowed down.
In just the past two years, I have worked to pass the Defend Trade Secrets Act, strengthen the Special 301 process, create a Chief IP negotiator at USTR, and reinforce the central importance of IP in negotiating and concluding trade agreements. All of these successful efforts were, of course, years in the making.
In the end, I hope it can be said that I’ve done my part to help American innovators and creators maintain their competitive advantage to the benefit of U.S. workers and businesses.
On trade, the work to protect IP must continue. And, on that front, I have some good news and bad news.
First, the bad news.
Copyright piracy and trademark violation is rampant throughout the world.
Innovative medical devices and pharmaceuticals are forced out of markets by price controls that do not recognize their real-world value, safety and efficacy.
American businesses have to deal with foreign governments that are complicit – and often direct participants – in the theft of trade secrets and the forced transfer of technology.
And, tax and competition authorities in Europe and Asia are targeting America’s most innovative companies.
Now, the good news.
I believe the Trump administration understands the seriousness of these problems and I believe they are committed to fixing them.
I will start with enforcement, where the administration has already laid out a plan and acted.
In July, USTR unveiled a powerful agenda for defending and promoting American trade interests through enforcement. The strongest part of the enforcement agenda is its focus on pursuing those who violate American intellectual property rights and stifle American innovation.
And that plan is being put into action.
Last month, Ambassador Lighthizer launched a Section 301 investigation into Chinese theft of trade secrets and forced technology transfer. While the nature of the action the president may pursue at the end of the investigation remains to be determined, this is a strong first step by USTR toward confronting the single biggest violator of U.S. intellectual property rights.
I think this administration is uniquely suited to address problems with China that we have long ignored, and I hope that Ambassador Lighthizer will be able to turn his full attention to those challenges soon.
But enforcement efforts are only as good as the standards being enforced. Therefore, we need new and better trade agreements that establish stronger guarantees of protection for American intellectual property.
And again, I have good news.
I have spoken to Ambassador Lighthizer many times about the important role IP plays in giving America an advantage in international trade. I am confident that American innovators and creators will find that Ambassador Lighthizer will champion their need for better and more equitable IP laws and regulations overseas.
I think you will see strong determination on the part of this administration to bring about improved IP regimes in Canada and Mexico through the NAFTA negotiations. And, I hope the model established under NAFTA will be repeated in future trade agreements with partners in the Asia-Pacific.
The cautionary note is that this administration is not the first to pay lip service to the importance of defending and promoting America’s competitive advantage in innovation. We have been promised higher IP standards and more vigorous enforcement in the past, and too often we have been left disappointed.
If he’s going to be more successful, Ambassador Lighthizer needs the guidance and support of everyone in this room. That is why this coalition is so important and timely.
The Trump administration has a big job ahead.
If they can, as they’ve promised, enforce IP rules more effectively and negotiate new trade agreements that reflect these priorities, this administration will have no better friend than me in getting those deals through Congress.
But, as always, the administration doesn’t do this alone. They need our help. So, all of us have big jobs ahead. I look forward to working with you to achieve these goals.
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