Bangkok – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed his satisfaction with the United States’ decision to remove Thailand from the Special 301 Priority Watch List.
The PM made the comment on Saturday, saying the US government led by President Donald Trump has already removed Thailand from its priority list thanks to the country’s improving intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement.
The Trump Administration has been closely engaging with Thailand on improving IP protection and enforcement. In recent months, Thailand has taken steps to improve enforcement of laws against pirated and counterfeit goods, including enhanced coordination of enforcement agencies and a sustained focus on investigations and raids.
In addition, in August 2017, Thailand acceded to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, making it easier for U.S. companies to file for trademark protection. Thailand has also been addressing the backlog of patent and trademark applications, mainly by hiring a significant number of additional examiners.
The United States and Thailand have strong and longstanding trade ties. Thailand is the United States’ 21st-largest goods trading partner, with two-way goods trade totaling 40 billion US dollars in 2016.
