U.S. Reportedly Warns China on Copyright Violations

The Clinton administration has warned China to clamp down on copyright piracy as agreed last year or face stiff economic sanctions in the next few months, the New York Times reported in today’s editions.

The report said President Clinton’s economic and trade advisors were especially concerned about 30 Chinese compact disc factories that export millions of dollars of goods pirated from the United States.

Despite concern over the already-tense relations between the two countries, Washington has decided to threaten tariffs as high as 100% on more than $1 billion of Chinese imports, the newspaper said. It quoted unnamed officials as saying U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor had made the threat to the Chinese ambassador to the United States on Wednesday.

The exact nature or timing of the sanctions had not been decided and will be further discussed in negotiations beginning this week in Beijing, the report said.

The piracy issue is particularly important in California, where Hollywood has lost millions of dollars through the duplication of movies and CDs. Kantor, who has practiced law in Los Angeles, has close ties to the entertainment industry.

Trade issues, particularly intellectual property rights, have become a major irritant between China and the United States. The relationship is also strained by disagreements over human rights and concerns about Taiwan.