US drops WTO chip suit against China

[dArKeR]

NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , WASHINGTON
Saturday, Jul 10, 2004,Page 12

The US said on Thursday that it was dropping its first case against China at the WTO after settling a dispute with the country over its tax on imported semiconductors.

Under the settlement, China agreed to gradually eliminate the tax advantage given to its domestic semiconductor industry, which has increased the price of US imports by 14 percent.

"This is another step toward real results," said Robert Zoellick, the U.S. trade representative, at a news conference in Washington.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/07/10/2003178456

Flippety Flop! Is there any coherent policy in a Mad Man's Mind?

[amandabeech]

1. The price of Chinese help with North Korea?

We'll see if the Chinese actually live up to their obligations under this agreement on a timely basis.

The Chinese do what is in their best interests regardless of agreements, it seems.

An example happened earlier this week. The Chinese revoked Pfizer's patent on Viagra under murky circumstances, including the fact that Chinese companies have figured out how to make the active ingredient and smell lots of money for a generic. Obviously, Pfizer is appealing.

I have no love for big pharma, but this case should be troubling for any business in which intellectual property protection is the key to making money. For them, doing business in China could become much more risky.

Perhaps the U.S., with its corporate-friendly intellectual property protections and a relatively predictable (and far too business friendly) court system will start looking a little better.