The Trump administration has raised the specter of Section 301 trade actions against countries failing to address concerns raised in an annual report on intellectual property rights protection and enforcement.
The 2025 Special 301 report from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative examines concerns with respect to (1) challenges with border and criminal enforcement against counterfeits, including in the online environment, (2) high levels of online and broadcast piracy, including through illicit streaming devices, (3) inadequacies in trade secret protection and enforcement in China, Russia, and elsewhere, (4) indigenous innovation and forced or pressured technology transfer policies that may unfairly disadvantage U.S. right holders in markets abroad, and (5) other ongoing systemic issues regarding IPR protection and enforcement, as well as market access, in many trading partners around the world.
In what appears to be new language, the report states that over the coming weeks USTR will review developments in countries that have been on the Priority Watch List (see below) for multiple years against the benchmarks established in the Special 301 action plans for those countries. For those that fail to address U.S. concerns, USTR plans to take “appropriate actions,” which may include enforcement actions under Section 301 or pursuant to dispute settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization or other trade agreements.
Priority Watch List
Trading partners on the PWL present the most significant concerns regarding insufficient IPR protection or enforcement or actions that otherwise limit market access for persons relying on IPR protection. Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela remain on the PWL this year. USTR has newly added Mexico to this list due to “longstanding and significant IPR concerns,” many of which relate to implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
USTR’s review of Ukraine, which had appeared on the PWL in 2021, continues to be suspended in light of Russia’s invasion.
Watch List
The following trading partners remain on the WL this year and merit bilateral attention to address underlying IPR problems: Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Türkiye, and Vietnam. Turkmenistan was removed because stakeholders have not raised significant concerns about IPR protection or enforcement in that country over the last several years.
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