On Tuesday, April 29th, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2025 Special 301 Report on intellectual property protection and enforcement. The report identified eight countries that are prioritized for observation due to severe lack of intellectual property protection.
One of the countries listed for priority observation is China, as the U.S. continues to highlight significant issues with intellectual property protection and enforcement in the country. The U.S. also noted that it will closely monitor China’s compliance with the Phase One trade agreement.
USTR representative Jamieson Greer stated in a declaration that trading partners must address the issues highlighted in the Special 301 Report to prevent theft of intellectual property from American businesses and individuals.
The 2025 Special 301 Report assessed the intellectual property protection and enforcement practices of over 100 trading partners of the United States. Based on the evaluation, eight countries were placed on the priority observation list for issues related to intellectual property protection, enforcement, and market access.
The countries on this list include China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela. Mexico was newly added to the list, with USTR citing deficiencies in intellectual property protection related to the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
On the other hand, some countries have been removed from the priority observation list due to improvements in intellectual property protection. Turkmenistan, for instance, was removed from the list for strengthening efforts against piracy and counterfeit drugs.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s review was paused for the current year due to the ongoing conflict in the country.
According to the USTR report, China continues to face significant challenges in intellectual property protection and enforcement. Despite slow progress on reform measures in Beijing, the country has been consistently listed for priority observation.
The U.S. remains vigilant on the implementation of revised Chinese laws related to intellectual property, as well as issues such as technology transfer, trade secrets, malicious trademarks, counterfeiting, online piracy, and geographical indications.
Concerns have been raised over statements by Chinese officials linking intellectual property protection with China’s dominant market position. The USTR report highlighted worries about China’s demands for technology transfers from foreign individuals and companies, and questioned the fairness of intellectual property protection and enforcement for foreign rights holders in China.
The report emphasized the need for Beijing to create a level playing field for intellectual property protection and enforcement, urging against pressuring foreign companies to transfer technology to Chinese entities and promoting market openness to foreign investment.
Reports indicated sustained attention on China’s compliance with the Phase One trade agreement commitments as well.
In the 2024 fiscal year, over 93% of counterfeit and pirated goods seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, calculated by suggested retail value, originated from mainland China and Hong Kong.
In contrast, Taiwan has remained off the U.S. observation list for 17 consecutive years.
Additionally, USTR placed 18 countries under observation, including Vietnam and Brazil.
Although Vietnam has taken steps to enhance criminal enforcement, it remains a major source of online piracy. Vietnam also faces serious intellectual property issues in areas like counterfeit goods, copyright exceptions, pharmaceutical intellectual property, and geographical indications with little progress made.
Aside from counterfeit goods, the report highlighted cross-cutting issues such as intellectual property and public health, as well as online and broadcast piracy concerns.
The report also mentioned ongoing concerns regarding the European Union’s exclusive geographical indication policy implementation.
The Special 301 Report is an annual assessment conducted by USTR on global intellectual property protection and enforcement status under the 1974 Trade Act, with revisions in 1988 under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. This marks the 36th edition of the Special 301 Report released by USTR.