U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released reports Mon. that outli...

practices affecting U.S. exports. (2) Special 301, which covers U.S. enforcement of intellectual property rights. (3) Title 7, which covers discrimination in foreign govt. procurement practices. USTR official told reporters in background briefing Mon. that reports cited “significant” concerns with level of intellectual property protection in 51 countries that are trading partners of U.S., including Argentina, Costa Rico, European Union, India, Israel, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Uruguay. “Enforcement must remain a key priority,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said. “We must step up our efforts to monitor compliance with our trade agreements and insist on performance by our trading partners. This administration will not hesitate to use the full power of U.S. and international law to do so.” USTR reports reiterated concerns in report released earlier this year on Mexico’s compliance with telecom market-opening commitments under World Trade Organization obligations. Reports Mon. said Mexico had made progress in areas such as ensuring that competitors obtained local interconnection from incumbent Telmex but “has not yet addressed the key issue of international traffic or enforced its dominant carrier rules.” Report that identifies Administration’s trade expansion priorities also outlines barriers to e-commerce. As example, report cites policy in Israel “that would disadvantage U.S. companies wishing to offer Internet access services over the cable platform and would favor the state-owned telecommunications company.” State-owned carrier, Bezeq, has been licensed to enter high-speed Internet access sector without incurring govt. licensing fees. Report said legislation had been introduced in Israel that would require cable companies seeking to compete in that market to pay licensing fees. “The United States is seriously concerned that regulatory favoritism undermines the investment environment in Internet services in Israel,” report said.