WASHINGTON DC - Bipartisan Members of the Ways and Means Committee today sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk regarding the upcoming meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. The letter focuses on the need for robust commitments that actually increase U.S. market access in China, particularly with respect to the protection of intellectual property rights, and commercially meaningful metrics to measure progress.
In the letter the Members write, "We urge the Administration to measure progress on greater U.S. market access into China and protection of U.S. intellectual property rights by objective criteria. These criteria should include commercially meaningful metrics, such as increased U.S. exports to and sales in China that increase U.S. jobs, a significant decrease in the theft of U.S. intellectual property rights caused by infringing products sold in and exported from China, and an objective means to verify such results."
The Members also raise specific concerns surrounding the illegal use of American software in China. The letter cites industry estimates that 80 out of every 100 computer programs are used illegally, "The commercial value of stolen personal computer software in China has nearly doubled in four years to $7.6 billion in 2009. The Chinese government’s ongoing tolerance of software theft creates an unfair trade advantage that costs jobs in the United States."
