U.S. Issues List of Biased Trading Partners : Commerce: Japan is one of those cited as discriminating against American products. Others are named for allowing the pirating of U.S. intellectual property.

The White House, taking the first steps in a process to boost U.S. exports and protect American patents, Friday identified trading partners that the Administration contends discriminate against American companies or allow U.S. products to be pirated.

Among the countries named were Japan, whose government procurement policies the White House said continue to discriminate against American companies, and Brazil, India and Thailand, which were singled out as the worst violators of U.S. patents, copyrights and trademarks.

By naming those nations in an annual survey required by U.S. trade law, the government opens the way for imposition of trade sanctions if negotiations fail to resolve the disputes.

“Any (trading) partner that fails to meet its commitments can expect a strong, speedy response from this Administration,” U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said.

The announcement was the latest in a series of actions unleashed by the White House as the Clinton Administration moves to put its own stamp on the increasingly important field of U.S. trade relations. The Administration has emphasized the role that more stable global trade ties--and greater markets for U.S. products--can play in building the American economy.

At the heart of the dispute presented by Kantor is protection of the fruits of U.S. research and creativity--products ranging from computer software to musical recordings and pharmaceuticals--that are subject to being copied and sold overseas without payment of royalties to their originators.

Such counterfeiting, or piracy, of so-called intellectual property rights has become one of the primary headaches for officials seeking to enforce trade laws.

Identifying the nations discriminating against U.S. companies, or allowing American products to be pirated, is the first step in opening negotiations to end violations of U.S. trade regulations. If the negotiations are unsuccessful, sanctions could then be imposed to try to force a country to comply.

Japan was cited for discrimination against U.S. companies bidding for construction, architecture or engineering contracts.

“Despite years of negotiations and two trade agreements, the Japanese construction market remains fundamentally closed to foreign firms,” Kantor said.

Kantor also expressed concern that Japan is not adhering to a 1990 agreement with Washington under which Tokyo made a commitment to follow specific procedures intended to make it easier for U.S. companies to sell supercomputers to Japan.

Kantor said that in head-to-head competition, U.S. firms have never won a contract to supply powerful computers in the Japanese market.

Brazil has been cited since 1989, the first year such surveys were conducted, as a leading violator of U.S. patents, trademarks and copyrights. India and Thailand were first placed on the list in 1991. In each case, some steps were taken to alleviate offenses, but they turned out to be insufficient or new complaints arose.

Other countries singled out for criticism by the Administration were Hungary, Taiwan, Argentina, Egypt, Korea, Poland, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Pakistan, Spain and Venezuela. Canada, Germany and Paraguay were removed from earlier lists of countries whose trade practices merited watching.

Kantor’s actions were praised by the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents companies that publish, produce and distribute computers and software, entertainment programs and other creative endeavors.

These steps, said Eric H. Smith, the association’s executive director, “keep the pressure on these countries to improve their copyright protection and enforcement regimes.”