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Europe Urges Talks On Visa Waivers
by Danielle Belopotosky
The European Commission has urged U.S. officials to waive the visa requirement for visitors traveling to the United States from all 25 European Union nations, according to a report issued Friday. The commission also called for further dialogue on the issue.
In a report to the Council of Europe, the commission concluded that "no tangible progress exists at present toward visa exemption for 10 of the 25 member states." Moreover, the commission urged the United States to set a transparent process with clear benchmarks for nations that have yet to receive the visa waiver.
The U.S. program lets visitors from 15 EU nations enter the United States without applying for visas. The United States set a mandatory deadline of October 2005 for EU nations to meet new standards for passports. Under the State mandate, nations must issue biometric passports in order for their citizens to enter the United States without visas.
To date, the United States has not granted visa waivers for Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland or Slovakia.
At a State Department briefing on Tuesday, a senior-level Bush administration official said that in order to "get into the visa-waiver program," nations have to adopt new technical standards. "They know what the steps are," and he called those steps "logical."
The European Union noted that it has urged the United States to offer visa-waiver reciprocity given that all U.S. citizens currently can travel without visas in EU nations. While the commission expressed concern about U.S. policy, it said there is no need for Europe to "propose any temporary measures," such as instituting a visa obligation for U.S. citizens.
Vice President Franco Frattini, who is in charge of the freedom, security and justice division of the European Commission, said in a Friday statement that the "non-reciprocity situation is subject to open debate with third countries concerned."
In other news, the commission set rules for a new Internet-based network to help EU nations fight against illegal immigration. The system will let nations securely transmit alerts to officials and other data that are related to immigration.
China Takes Steps On Intellectual Property
China last week announced Feb. 1 as the start date for its intellectual property ombudsman in the Washington embassy. The watchdog will serve as the lead contact for U.S. businesses that seek to secure IP rights in China. The Chinese agreed to install the ombudsman in July.
The Chinese also launched an initiative to scrub all government offices of pirated software, according to a joint statement by Reps. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Rick Larson, D-Wash., the bipartisan co-chairmen of the House U.S.-China Working Group. The lawmakers recently returned from a 10-day mission to China with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
"[I]nfringement is the number one concern to American businesses, and we are pleased to see the Chinese government's responsiveness," Kirk said in a statement.
The Chinese government also agreed to purchase $30 million in Microsoft Office XP software as a show of good faith. The software will be distributed to state-owned offices.
"Through diplomacy, we can reach a mutual understanding and be responsive to one another's concerns," Larsen added.
The two lawmakers met with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Li Zhaoxing and Commerce Minister Bo Xilai to address the enforcement of intellectual property issues in China.
Diplomacy Road Show In China
On Monday, meanwhile, the European Commission urged China to improve its business environment in order to attract greater foreign investment and trade.
Speaking at the China Europe International Business School, Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding told students she was "struck by the list of remaining obstacles" identified by a 2005 European Chamber of Commerce in China report. The obstacles include some in the "information society sector."
Of the 16,000 licenses granted to companies in "value-added services," only four were granted to companies with foreign ownership, the report said. Reding cited the burdensome licensure process and "restrictions on the choice of Chinese partners for 'basic' services."
She also noted that foreign companies cannot serve as full members of Chinese standards organizations and that Chinese-specific standards sometimes impose trade barriers. She further noted that intellectual property protections "are rarely implemented."
Also of concern for EU companies is the lack of transparency in government software procurement and draft legislation that would implement a "domestic software" preference. Last year, the Chinese Finance and Information Industry ministries proposed requiring that foreign companies wishing to do business with the Chinese government manufacture their products, register their copyrights and invest 50 percent of their development costs in China.
While China has made some progress on opening its markets since its accession to the World Trade Organization, Reding said, "legal certainty is not sufficient" in some technology areas.
China and the European Union issued a joint statement in September to raise awareness of the issues and to take steps to improve cooperation. Reding reasserted the union's position to continue that dialogue and increase its cooperation on research.
Furthermore, Reding reiterated the proclamation delivered at the conclusion of the World Summit on the Information Society, which was held in Tunisia in November. The proclamation called for putting "citizens at the center of e-strategies." Information and communications technologies will offer opportunities "for all countries" as they drive economic growth and jobs, Reding concluded as she encouraged industry and other stakeholders to take part in that effort.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce, meanwhile, reported on Monday that the nation's implementation of new science and technology strategies was the impetus for increased trade in 2005. The ministry reported $416 billion in total high-tech, two-way trade last year, reflecting a 31.9 percent increase from the previous year.
China's Growing Semiconductor Industry
China's semiconductor industry accounted for $4.5 billion in revenues in 2004, according to a report released last week. Research and Markets found that 20 major manufacturers represented $2.78 billion of China's domestic sales.
Moreover, the China Semiconductor Industry Association reports that China's semiconductor packaging sector mainly caters to foreign firms. Infineon Technologies and Intel rank among China's top 10 packaging plants. Of those 10, only one, Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology, is a domestically owned enterprise.
In other news, the China Internet Information Center reported that 111 million Chinese "netizens" spent $12.5 billion for Internet services in 2005. The majority of China's Internet users reside in urban areas, mainly in Eastern China, the report said.
And the Chinese are eyeing a U.S. stock exchange as a vehicle to gain international traction. China Security and Surveillance Technology announced on Monday it has submitted an application to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.
"By making the application for listing on Amex, we believe these developments will enhance the liquidity and enlarge our shareholder base of the company's shares," Tu Guoshen, the company's president, said in a statement. China Security manufactures homeland security products and surveillance systems in China, according to the company.
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