The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has published the latest "Special 301 Report" in which it has removed Uzbekistan from the watch list for intellectual property protection. The country had been on the list since 2000.
The "Special 301 Report" is an annual review of the "global state of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights." USTR has been conducting this monitoring since 1989 in accordance with U.S. trade law. For the new report, USTR assessed over 100 trading partners, with 20 being included in the watch list and 7 in the "Priority Watch List." Being on these lists, according to USTR, indicates serious deficiencies in a country's intellectual property rights.
"This year, Uzbekistan has been removed from the watch list due to sustained progress in addressing longstanding issues related to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights," the report states.
USTR notes that in February, Uzbekistan adopted amendments to the Customs Code, granting customs authorities the right to suspend the import and export of counterfeit products. The country approved a Strategy for the Development of Intellectual Property for 2022-2026, and in 2019, it joined the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. USTR also highlighted Uzbekistan's efforts since 2021 to transition government agencies to licensed software.
"The United States also recognizes the continued high-level political attention to intellectual property, including Uzbekistan's support and participation in the Intellectual Property Working Group under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the United States and Central Asian countries," the report states.
USTR emphasized that the U.S. will continue to work with Uzbekistan and will closely monitor the implementation of amendments to the Customs Code and the transition to licensed software in the government. Additionally, the U.S. has called for measures to address the growing counterfeit products in the country.
The Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan described the country's removal from the list as a result of systematic work.
"Today's results are the result of systematic work over the past five years aimed at simplifying procedures for registering intellectual property objects, effectively protecting their rights, acceding to international agreements, developing external relations, and implementing the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) into national legislation," the Ministry stated.
Among the Central Asian countries, only Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were on the Watch List, as added by the agency.
In addition to Uzbekistan, USTR has also removed the Dominican Republic from the watch list. The countries remaining on the Watch List include Algeria, Belarus, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey. The Priority Watch List includes Argentina, Venezuela, India, Indonesia, China, Russia, and Chile.
