The US Embassy in Bangkok yesterday released the expected announcement from the US Trade Representative, citing widespread violations of copyright on audio-visual products.

Thailand joined China and India on the list, along with Russia, Egypt, Argentina, Chile, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Thailand is the only new addition to the list this year, reflecting US concern that the past 12 months had been characterised by an overall deterioration in the protection and enforcement of copyright laws.

The annual "Special 301" report, issued by the US Trade Representative's office on Monday, placed Thailand on the list. It will be monitored to "encourage and maintain" effective intellectual property rights protection.

The US government conducts an annual review of its trading partners to identify those countries that do not provide adequate and effective protection for intellectual property. Thailand has been on the less serious US "watch list" for the past 15 years, but an increase in piracy and the number of counterfeited goods prompted the latest US action.

Ralph Boyce, the US ambassador to Thailand, said at a press conference yesterday the fact Thailand's status was downgraded "reflects the concerns that Thailand's measures in the protection of copyrights and intellectual property rights have been weaker during the past period. Producers of movies, music, books and brand-name goods have faced serious rights violations."

However, he said the move was "not aimed at retaliation against Thailand for its decision to invoke compulsory licensing [and suspend the patent rights on selected drugs] as predicted by the media earlier".

Nonetheless, the ambassador noted that compulsory licensing was one of the US's concerns, and embassy officials said the lack of transparency and due process in issuing compulsory licences for pharmaceuticals was just one among many factors in its annual review.

Boyce said the US had not adopted any punitive measures against Thailand and the watch-list decision had not yet affected US-Thai trade status.

However, the ambassador noted that "the fact Thailand is being placed on the PWL reflects US and international concerns towards Thailand's recent economic policies such as the Foreign Business Act amendment, capital control measures and the pending retail business act". He refused to elaborate.

Jim Carouso, an economic officer at the embassy, said the PWL was not related to the US's generalised system of preferences benefits but it represents a signal from Washington that the US would like to see improvements to intellectual property protection in Thailand.

Although no punitive measures have been taken so far, the Thai private sector was concerned about the implications of the country being placed on the PWL.

Pornchai Chuenchomlada, president of the Thai Gems and Jewellery Traders Association, said he was confident tax benefits under the generalised system of preferences (GSP) to the US would continue, but this was not guaranteed.

"The PWL is bad news because it might affect Thailand's chance to continue receiving GSP benefits. If this happens it will affect Thai gems and jewellery because the US accounts for 30 per cent of Thai gem and jewellery exports," he said.

When asked if Thailand might be further downgraded to the most severe category of "priority foreign country", which would subject it to trade sanctions, Peter Thorin, another economic officer at the embassy, said Thailand's situation was not that serious. Currently there were no countries on the PFC list.

The US Embassy alleged in its press release there were 41 illegal optical disk plants in Thailand capable of producing 665 million disks per year.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation