Question

Special 301 Report classifies India as a “Priority watch list country”. Consider the following statements in this context:

Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?

• A. Only 1&2
• B. Only 2 &3
• C. Only 1 &3
• D. None of these

Answer 1

The correct option is B Only 2 &3

The “Special 301” process is a unilateral step taken by the US under their Trade Act, 1974 to put pressure on countries to enhance Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection beyond the TRIPS pact. It is an extra territorial application of the domestic law of a country and is not reasonable under the overall WTO regime. India has a sound legislative, administrative and judicial framework to protect IPRs which meets its obligations under the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement while making use of the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. USTR creates an annual list of countries, known as the Special 301 list. The USTR also groups these countries in three categories. The most egregious violators are designated as Priority Foreign Countries (PFC), serious offenders are listed on the Priority Watch List (PWL), and less serious offenders in the Watch List (WL).