Collins, Chu Urge Lighthizer to Protect American Industry IP Rights in NAFTA Renegotiations

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer should ensure IP rights of Americans are "afforded, protected and enforced at the highest levels" when renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, said House IP Subcommittee Vice Chairman Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., in a Tuesday letter to him. They urged Lighthizer to promote strong copyright protection standards similar to those in the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, keep the U.S.'s long-standing stance on copyright exceptions language without open-ended balance provisions, and advance "responsible" internet partnership between platforms without outdated safe harbor provisions. They said Canada adopted "sweeping" copyright exceptions with a weak safe harbor system, and Mexico has high piracy rates and enforcement problems. Foreign countries have enacted laws "that harm the market for American works. NAFTA should not exacerbate this problem, but, rather, be the first step in correcting it," they wrote. The letter said copyright-intensive industries contributed $1.2 trillion and supplied 5.6 million jobs in 2015 to the U.S. economy.