The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday announced it would remove Taiwan from the "Special 301" Priority Watch List and place it on the less stringent Watch List in recognition of the nation's progress in protecting intellectual property rights (IPR).
In the report, the USTR said Taiwan had made "significant progress" in cracking down on commercial piracy and had bolstered its IPR-protection legislation over the past year.
Taiwan has been on the "priority watch list" for four consecutive years.
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said that Taiwan's efforts in cracking down on piracy over the past year had been commendable.
The progress Taiwan has made in improving its IPR environment includes the passage of a revision to the Copyright Law (
However, Zoellick also said that Taiwan could do a better job in protecting the data exclusivity of pharmaceutical products, since the US thinks that IPR threats still exist in the area.
Pharmaceutical data exclusivity refers to the legal protection of the results of efficacy and safety tests conducted by pharmaceutical firms before they receive government approval for the drugs.
The report also suggested that Taiwan should continue to strengthen IPR laws pertaining to agrochemical products, and crack down on unauthorized Internet music-file downloading and other commercial piracy.
Tsai Lien-sheng (
"We are working on addressing the issues that concern the US ... with amendments to related laws that are expected to be passed, I'm confident that Taiwan can be removed completely from the Watch List," Tsai said.
Concerns over protection of the data exclusivity of pharmaceutical products, for example, may be resolved soon, with the legislature last week preliminarily passing amendments to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (
Tsai said the new amendments grant a five-year protection period to test and study results for new drugs. The amendments also provide a three-year protection period for improvements to existing products.
Hoping that the USTR will remove Taiwan from the Special 301 watch list altogether in April when it conducts its annual review, the ministry will speed up drafting of laws to regulate online IPR infringement, Tsai added.
As the government has stopped using the Export Management Systems to screen for pirated disks, Tsai said the office will transfer the budget and resources into the training of a task force to clamp down on physical and virtual piracy, hoping to lower Taiwan's piracy rate from 43 percent to under 40 percent this year.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS