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 Placement of a trading partner on the Priority Watch List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in that country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market access for persons relying on IPR.

Public Engagement

USTR solicited broad public participation in the 2015 Special 301 review process to facilitate sound, well-balanced assessments of the IPR protection and enforcement efforts of trading partners, and to help ensure that the Special 301 review would be based on comprehensive information regarding IPR issues in trading partner markets.

USTR requested written submissions from the public through a notice published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2014 (Federal Register notice). In addition, on February 24, 2015, USTR conducted a public hearing that provided the opportunity for interested persons to testify before the inter-agency Special 301 Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) about issues relevant to the review. The hearing featured testimony from witnesses, including representatives of foreign governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations. USTR recorded and posted on its public website the testimony at the Special 301 hearing, and offered a post-hearing comment period during which hearing participants and interested parties could submit additional information in support of, or in response to, hearing testimony. The Federal Register notice and post-hearing comment opportunity drew submissions from 55 interested parties, including 21 trading partner governments.

The submissions filed in response to the Federal Register notice, and during the post-hearing comment period, are available to the public online at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0025. The public can access both the video and transcript of the hearing at www.ustr.gov.

Country Placement

The Special 301 listings and actions announced in this Report follow intensive deliberations among all relevant agencies within the U.S. Government, informed by extensive consultation with participating stakeholders, foreign governments, the U.S. Congress, and other interested parties.

USTR, together with the Special 301 Subcommittee, conducts a broad and balanced assessment of U.S. trading partners' IPR protection and enforcement, as well as related market access issues affecting IPR-intensive industries, in accordance with the statutory criteria set out by the U.S. Congress. (See Annex 1). The Special 301 Subcommittee, through the TPSC, provides country placement recommendations to the USTR based on this assessment. 2