WASHINGTON — Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2025 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights.
“Americans take great pride as the world's leading innovators and creators,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer. “Our trading partners must address the concerns identified in the Special 301 Report and stop those stealing the intellectual property of hard-working businesses and individuals. President Trump has a track record of empowering our innovators and workers, and this comprehensive report is a basis for the United States to take trade enforcement action against those not playing fairly.”
This annual report details USTR’s findings of more than 100 trading partners after significant research and enhanced engagement with stakeholders. Key elements of the 2025 Special 301 Report include:
- USTR moved Mexico from the Watch List to the Priority Watch List due to long-standing and significant IP concerns that have not been resolved, many of which relate to Mexico’s implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). These include concerns regarding enforcement against trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, protection of pharmaceutical-related IP, pre-established damages for copyright infringement and trademark counterfeiting, and plant variety protection.
- USTR removed Turkmenistan from the Watch List this year. Stakeholders have not raised significant concerns about IP protection or enforcement during the Special 301 review over the last several years.
- USTR placed 8 countries on the Priority Watch List, indicating that serious problems exist in that country with respect to IP protection, enforcement, or market access for U.S. persons relying on IP. For example:
- With the slow pace of reform in China, serious concerns remain regarding long-standing issues like technology transfer, trade secrets, counterfeiting, online piracy, copyright law, patent and related policies, bad faith trademarks, and geographical indications. China has failed to implement or only partially implemented a number of its commitments on intellectual property under the United States-China Economic and Trade Agreement (Phase One Agreement), and the United States will continue to monitor closely China’s implementation.
- Indonesia lacks effective enforcement against widespread piracy and counterfeiting, particularly as local manufacturing of counterfeits has increased and counterfeit sales have shifted online. Significant concerns remain in areas such as border enforcement, copyright exceptions, pharmaceutical-related IP, and patent law implementation.
- The report also details concerns and developments in 18 countries that USTR placed on the Watch List. For example:
- Although Vietnam took some steps to improve criminal enforcement, it remains a leading source of online piracy. There has been little or no progress on other serious IP issues, including counterfeit goods, copyright exceptions, pharmaceutical-related IP, and geographical indications.
- Brazil lacks effective enforcement against the widespread importation and sale of counterfeit goods, has not joined international treaties that update copyright protection for the digital environment, and takes significantly longer than most countries to grant patents.
- Cross-cutting issues highlighted in the report include:
- Online piracy is the most challenging copyright enforcement issue in many foreign markets. Stakeholders from both unions and companies in the creative sectors have underscored the importance of copyright protection and enforcement to their livelihoods and businesses.
- Border, criminal, and online enforcement against counterfeiting remains a global concern impacting consumers and legitimate producers. Counterfeit products make their way from China and other source countries directly to purchasers around the world.
- Forced technology transfer, which can range from state-sponsored theft of trade secrets to the transfer under pressure from state actors, is another ongoing concern in certain countries like China. For example, China has government measures that condition market access, regulatory approvals, or receipt of certain preferences or benefits on developing IP in or transferring IP to China.
- Concerns with the European Union’s aggressive promotion of its exclusionary geographical indications policies persist. The United States continues its intensive engagement in promoting and protecting access to foreign markets for U.S. exporters of products that are identified by common names or otherwise marketed under previously registered trademarks.
- With respect to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, concerns remain with a number of trading partners on a range of IP protection and enforcement and market access issues.
To read the Special 301 Report, click here.
Background
The Special 301 Report is an annual review of the global state of IP protection and enforcement. USTR conducts this review pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
USTR reviewed more than 100 trading partners for this year’s Special 301 Report and placed 26 of them on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. The Special 301 review of Ukraine has been suspended due to the ongoing war.
In this year’s Report, trading partners on the Priority Watch List present the most significant concerns this year regarding insufficient IP protection or enforcement or actions that otherwise limited market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection. Eight countries are on the Priority Watch List: Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela. These countries will be the subject of particularly intense bilateral engagement during the coming year.
Eighteen trading partners are on the Watch List and merit bilateral attention to address underlying IP problems: Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Türkiye, and Vietnam.
Public Engagement
USTR continued its enhanced approach to public engagement activities in this year’s Special 301 process. USTR requested written submissions from the public through a notice published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2024 (Federal Register notice). In addition, on February 19, 2025, USTR conducted a public hearing that provided the opportunity for interested persons to testify before the interagency Special 301 Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) about issues relevant to the review. The hearing featured testimony from witnesses, including representatives of foreign governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
The Federal Register notice drew submissions from 45 non-government stakeholders and 19 foreign governments. The submissions filed in response to the Federal Register notice are available to the public online at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2024-0023.
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