The U.S. is extending the time for its review of General System of Preferences (GSP) benefits for Brazil. The move is being taken, says the White House Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in part to allow monitoring of the effectiveness of a plan Brazil adopted in mid-March to combat copyright piracy.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance has submitted a petition to USTR asking the U.S. to strip GSP benefits from Brazil because of the South American country's alleged inadequate protection of intellectual property rights. GSP is a system of selective trade preferences the U.S. created in 1974 to encourage economic development in less-industrialized nations.
"The focus of the extended review will be on implementation and enforcement of both existing laws and recently adopted measures," says USTR. "The [Bush] Administration looks to the government of Brazil to achieve and demonstrate concrete progress in reducing unacceptable levels of copyright piracy, particularly through increased prosecutions and criminal convictions."
