Chamber Welcomes Progress at U.S.-China Trade Meeting

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Chamber of Commerce welcomed commitments made by China today to crack down on intellectual property rights (IPR) violators, legalize software, and reduce market access barriers for telecommunications and express delivery services providers. China made the commitments at the annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meeting held in Washington, D.C.

"Putting real teeth into the enforcement of IPR is critical to strengthening the U.S.-China trade relationship," said Myron Brilliant, Chamber vice president for Asia. "Even as we recognize measured gains from today's meetings, we expect future discussions with China to yield significant and consistent progress on systemic challenges that hinder American access to the Chinese market and impede competition."

The Chamber said the results of today's meeting demonstrate that the JCCT process continues to be a constructive one that benefits American companies and workers. In addition to the modest progress made at the meeting on IPR, software, and market access, China also gave positive signals that it may reopen its market to U.S. beef exports and will begin negotiations to join the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement. The annual JCCT dialogue is a platform to develop and facilitate the U.S.-China commercial relationship. This year's JCCT was held as Chinese President Hu Jintao's prepares to visit Washington on April 20.

Brilliant urged both sides to build on the progress made at this year's meeting. "We applaud the efforts of the U.S. and Chinese governments to foster closer commercial ties and encourage both sides to use the momentum generated at this year's meeting to resolve other outstanding issues," said Brilliant.

Ensuring that U.S. companies have the same opportunities to succeed in the China market that Chinese companies already enjoy in the U.S. market is a top Chamber priority. Continued efforts by China to open its markets, enforce IPR, adopt a more flexible, market-based exchange rate for its currency, and eliminate market-distorting measures are the "best antidotes to rising concerns in the Congress over the U.S.-China trade relationship," Brilliant said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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