Earlier today, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro delivered the keynote speech at the mid-Winter meeting of the General Executive Board of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the world’s largest entertainment union. Ambassador Sapiro focused her remarks on the Obama Administration’s successful efforts to combat intellectual property theft. She described the robust intellectual property provisions contained in recently approved U.S. trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, as well as in the recently-signed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Ambassador Sapiro also underscored the important role the U.S. entertainment industry plays in creating and sustaining jobs in the United States, noting the $12 billion annual trade surplus that the United States runs in movies, television and other audiovisual services.