Trade Battle With Brazil Threatens U.S. Copyrights
`Angered by subsidies to U.S. cotton growers, Brazilian lawmakers said Thursday that they were considering suspending the intellectual property rights of American products in their country if the U.S. government did not explain how it intended to change subsidy programs by July 1.
The deadline was set earlier this year by the World Trade Organization, which found that U.S. assistance to cotton farmers distorted world prices by encouraging overproduction. If implemented, Brazil’s plan would negatively affect a range of U.S. industries including entertainment, software and pharmaceuticals.
“Essentially, the Brazilian position would be, ‘We’re going to have state-sanctioned piracy,'” said Neil Turkewitz, an executive vice president of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the music industry’s largest trade and lobbying group.’
