David Thomas: “late yesterday afternoon the Office of the United States Trade Representative received a letter from Wu Yi, the PRC…”

“late yesterday afternoon the Office of the United States Trade Representative received a letter from Wu Yi, the PRC Minister of Trade, stating that the Chinese were prepared to resume talks in Beijing next week on the issue of infringements on American intellectual property rights. As I noted on the floor of the Senate yesterday, since 1992 the PRC has failed to live up to its obligations under the memorandum of understanding on intellectual property rights. Factories throughout China, especially in the southern and eastern provinces, continue to mass-produce pirated versions of American computer software, compact discs, CD-ROM's, and video and audio cassettes mostly for sale abroad. The USTR estimates that the sale of these pirated items has cost U.S. businesses more than $1 billion. Efforts by the USTR to bring the PRC into compliance with the MOU have failed, resulting in the proposed sanctions announced by the administration on Saturday. Madam President, I am very pleased that the Chinese Government has agreed to resume negotiations over this vitally important issue. A strong and equitable relationship between our two countries is of the utmost importance, and I know that no one relished the prospect of a protracted trade dispute. I hope that the PRC will use this opportunity to constructively address our grievances, and move toward adopting stronger measures to curb economic piracy.”