Ambassador Ron Kirk, the United States Trade Representative, announced the plan to move forward with the negotiation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), after it was reviewed by the Obama administration, as part of an ongoing overall evaluation of the current and pending trade agreements.
Ambassador Kirk emphasized that the ACTA is an important part of the U.S. trade agenda. Kirk believes that the international community’s continued commitment to its development marks a significant blow to those that participating in global counterfeiting and piracy. In a press release, Kirk stated that “the ACTA negotiations provide an opportunity to toughen international standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, making it harder for counterfeit and pirated products to enter our country and making the world safer for the innovation and creativity that are so critical to the U.S. economy.”
In the recent past, the negotiations surrounding the agreement have received some criticism for their secrecy, an issue Ambassador Kirk noted would be addressed with a dedicated page on the USTR website as well as an “open door policy” and town hall meetings to engage and inform the public about the proceedings.
According to the press release, the next meeting of the ACTA negotiations is scheduled for July in Morocco. The hope is that an agreement will be reached by 2010.