President Javier Milei government received fresh support from the United States on the last day of April, thanks to an upgrade of Argentina’s intellectual property ratings.
In a new nod to Washington’s ever-closer ties with Buenos Aires, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) upgraded Argentina’s rating in its annual review of the global situation in the protection of and respect for intellectual property rights.
It was the first upgrade to Argentina's listing in three decades.
In Special Report 301, published by the USTR, headed by Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Milei’s Argentina was taken off the “List of Priority Vigilance” and moved to the “List of Vigilance,” due to “its efforts to tackle significant concerns” in that respect.
Argentina had been on the former list since 1996, a list of countries with grave deficiencies in the protection of or compliance with intellectual property rights.
What does the USTR report highlight about Argentina?
In the report, the USTR underlines that last February the United States and Argentina signed the Reciprocal Agreement on Trade and Investment whereby the Javier Milei administration “took on commitments to benefit US innovators and creators by reinforcing the protection of intellectual property and giving priority to the application of the law against the piracy of intellectual property.”
According to the report, “this includes advancing in the adherence to several key international agreements respecting intellectual property and adopting measures to resolve numerous long-term problems of intellectual property identified in Special Report 301.”
For its part, “Argentina has also committed itself to applying rigorous standards of transparency and equity respecting the protection of geographical indications while guaranteeing that US products may continue using terms which have been unfairly protected as geographical indications,” the report added.
– TIMES/NA
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