USA Imposes Trade Sanctions On Argentina

Citing Argentina's "inadequate" intellectual property laws, US PresidentBill Clinton has signed an order cutting in half the number of goods from that country which can be imported into the USA duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences, US trade sanctions.

The move is being taken to increase pressure on the Argentinean government to solve patent protection bill problems, especially for pharmaceuticals (Marketletters passim). A pending bill established the payment of royalties from the year 2000 onwards to US companies; the Clinton Administration feels the new legislation does not offer enough protection, and is especially troubled by the five-year transition period for patent protection.

Until the passage of two laws in 1995 and 1996, there was no restriction on copying foreign drug patents, and US drugmakers said they lost $500 million annually to what they termed piracy.