The Clinton administration has finally decided that it has to get really tough with China over its failure to comply with the 1995 agreement on copyright piracy of US products. According to the New York Times, it has privately told Chinese leaders that the flagrant flouting of the agreement is undercutting the administration’s credibility in Congress and will lead to tariff sanctions on up to $2,000m of Chinese imports sometime next month. The US is said to have told China that the President will not be able credibly to push for the annual renewal of China’s most-favored-nation trade privileges if Peking continues to tolerate the rampant trade in pirated US software, music and films – some members of Congress have said they intend to challenge China’s trade status in retaliation for the military intimidation of Taiwan, the poor human rights record and its failure to live up to previous trade agreements. The US was said to have presented the Chinese with a detailed plan of action that requires it to shut down or bring into compliance with copyright laws the majority of the pirate factories still operating in China – and that the Chinese reaction to the program was extremely negative.
