*EPF504 07/07/00
U.S. Official Examines Aspects of Caribbean Trade Legislation
(Emphasizes importance of intellectual property rights) (680)
By Lauren Monsen
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Legislation to enhance the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) agreement, providing duty-free market access to a variety of Caribbean goods entering the United States, is likely to "spur investment and economic diversification in the CBI region," says Bryan Samuel, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs.

Addressing a July 6 digital video conference with participants in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, Samuel hailed the recent congressional passage of CBI enhancement -- which President Clinton signed into law on May 17 -- as "a real achievement" and "an excellent bipartisan demonstration of our commitment to the Caribbean and Central America." He observed that those countries qualifying for CBI benefits, "with very few exceptions," will enjoy U.S. market access equivalent to the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signatory nations.

The importance of CBI enhancement is perhaps best understood, Samuel said, in relation to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations scheduled for completion in 2005. As a decisive step towards more liberalized trade in the Western Hemisphere, he explained, CBI enhancement is "very much related" to the broader vision of a hemisphere-wide free trade zone that the FTAA would establish.

The Caribbean Basin's textile and apparel industries are expected to be among the beneficiaries of CBI enhancement, "and we hope that it will have strong positive effects for Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic," Samuel added. While conceding that the question of quota allocations for Caribbean Basin products introduced into the United States "is a very complicated issue," he said that the State Department has been consulting with Congress and the U.S. Customs Service on this matter, and that U.S. officials are aware of industry executives' need for a rapid response.

Several proposals, including a "first-come/first-serve" arrangement, are being considered, though "we are not wedded to any system at this point," he said. Citing different implementation procedures that the United States has adopted for country-specific quota allocations, he offered these examples as proof "that our Customs Service can in fact be flexible," and assured his Caribbean audience that their ideas would be solicited "to find the best means of allocation" for their exports.

"We will do this expeditiously," he declared, estimating that a decision on quota allocations would be made "within the next six weeks or so." At the same time, he stressed that the views of U.S. business enterprises may be taken into account in determining which countries should be eligible for CBI benefits under the new rules -- particularly with regard to intellectual property rights, often inadequately protected in the Caribbean and Central America. Samuel said that this problem is viewed with great concern by the recording industry, whose products are heavily pirated in the region. Patent and trademark piracy of well-known clothing brands is also widespread in many of the CBI countries, he noted.

Samuel remarked that the United States has "real concerns about the [Dominican Republic's] draft patent law," currently under review. "I would hope this is an opportunity for us to sit down and talk with Dominican officials about intellectual property rights there," he said. "We know that Costa Rica is working hard and making efforts [to address the problem], and we appreciate that." Furthermore, he argued that improved protection of intellectual property rights is likely to raise investor confidence in the region, significantly boosting development efforts.

While many facets of CBI enhancement are still being refined, Samuel expressed his hope that the new legislation will provide numerous products from the Caribbean and Central America with "virtually unfettered access" to the U.S. market. "We have gotten rid of the impediments, and it is up to the individual countries to establish the policies which allow them to best take advantage of that," he concluded.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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