Is WTO accession sort of like trade preferences? Countries want to receive trade preferences, so those handing them out can condition them on adopting policies in other areas. Similarly, countries want to accede to the WTO, so WTO Members can impose conditions on this accession. This is from the Bahamas Tribune:
The US government has already wielded the 'big stick' to force the Bahamas to enhance intellectual property rights protection, Tribune Business can reveal, threatening to withdraw this nation's trade benefits and support for its World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession unless the compulsory TV licensing regime was disbanded.
The threats, allegedly made by the US Trade Representative's Office during an August 5, 2009, meeting in Nassau, which was attended by representatives from the Bahamian government, US Embassy, US-based TV programming rights holders and Cable Bahamas, seemed to be successful, given that within six weeks the Ingraham administration brought into force the 2004 Copyright Act amendments that narrowed the scope of this nation's compulsory TV licensing regime.
The nature of the threats has been revealed by the Television Association of Programmers Latin America (TAP), the trade industry group representing more than 30 pay television channels, via a statement on its website describing that August 5 meeting.
TAP said: "During this meeting, the US Trade Representative issued a clear statement that unless the compulsory license on pay TV was repealed, the Bahamas would be facing some serious consequences, including the possible loss of trade benefits under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, possible restatement to the US Trade Representative's special 301 Watchlist, and the loss of US support for the Bahamas' pending accession to the World Trade Organisation."
The industry group added: "TAP and its members were able to present our side of the story directly to the Bahamian government and, as a result of these discussions, the Bahamas finally ratified the 2004 amendments to the Bahamian Copyright Act on September 16, 2009, removing encrypted pay TV signals from the compulsory license."
TAP described this as "a resounding victory......... after over a decade of repeated attempts to resolve the issue". It added that it had made numerous representations to the US Trade Representative's Office, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other regulators in a bid "to press our concerns about the Bahamian government's repeated violation of intellectual property rights".
Tribune Business revealed early last October the Government's move to amend the compulsory TV licensing regime to permit only copyrighted works broadcast free over-the-air to be compulsorily licensed. Previously, the regime had allowed all copyrighted programmes to be received, transmitted and re-broadcast within the Bahamas.
That move ensured the Bahamas had fulfilled its 'side of the bargain' with the US when it came to a 2000 agreement between the two, in which this nation had agreed to narrow the compulsory TV licensing regime in return for the US Trade Representative's Office pressurising the programming rights holders to negotiate commercial arrangements with Cable Bahamas.
That latter aspect has culminated in agreements such as Cable Bahamas' signing of a deal with HBO, even though some programming will be received in Spanish.
The nature of the pressure applied to the Bahamas has never been revealed until now, though, and it is especially relevant today given the current predicament faced by the nine Bahamian straw vendors currently charged and held under house arrest, on bond, for the alleged trafficking of counterfeit goods.
These arrests, and the compulsory TV licensing regime situation, show two things. First, they provide evidence of how the US government and intellectual property rights owners are not playing when it comes to protecting the fruits of their creativity, and will use the full arsenal of measures at their disposal - law enforcement, trade benefits and threats - to ensure the Bahamas and its citizens comply with international agreements, laws and standards.
The other lesson is that the Bahamas will have little choice but to fall into line with global standards on intellectual property rights protection, especially as it prepares to sign on to full WTO membership and implement its Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) obligations.
