WIPR survey: Readers split over Trump’s NAFTA renegotiation

WIPR readers are split over whether President Donald Trump’s plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will be bad for intellectual property owners.

In January, WIPR  reported that Trump had abandoned the US’s involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, while also sparking concerns over the future of NAFTA.

According to news outlets, including CNBC, Trump was scheduling meetings with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the agreement.

There’s no consensus on what this means for IP owners, with 53% of readers saying the renegotiation will negatively affect rights owners and 47% thinking it will have positive consequences.

“The US has always pushed for higher IP standards in all its free trade negotiations. A renegotiation would only benefit IP owners, as the standards would not be lowered,” said one reader.

Trump’s plan raises further questions regarding IP protection in Canada and Mexico—the other two signatories of the deal—for US owners.

Another reader added: “Donald Trump is handling the negotiations ... for example, I can’t see Mexico being willing to accede to any of his demands!”

One reader believed that the renegotiation would make no difference whatsoever to IP, with another explaining that all three NAFTA countries have legislation ensuring compliance with the main international agreements concerning IP.

“Trump has had an abstract view of dealing with NAFTA, going back on established international law norms that have formed the bedrock of trade,” said one reader.

They added: “Naturally this will have an impact on IP and the checks and balances in place to deal with that, and it brings uncertainty to those international norms.”

For our latest survey question, we ask: "An  INTA report claimed that the global impact of piracy and counterfeiting will hit $4.2 trillion by 2022.  Does this seem likely?"

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