US embassy cable - 03ZAGREB1392

UNCLAS  ZAGREB 001392 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE PASS USTR ERRION AND ALVAREZ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, PREL, HR, Intellectual Property 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR WRITES PRIME MINISTER ON 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MOU 
 
REF: ZAGREB 1187 and previous (notal) 
 
1.  After hearing from industry contacts that the 
Ministry of Health had deleted language from the draft 
pharmaceutical law that would have provided EU- 
comparable protection for confidential test data, and 
after failing to see Croatian progress on moving the 
1998 MOU on intellectual property to the Parliament, the 
Ambassador sent the following letter to Prime Minister 
Racan: 
 
Begin Text of Letter: 
 
 
His Excellency 
Ivica Racan 
Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, 
Zagreb 
 
June 16, 2003 
Dear Mr. Prime Minister: 
 
I am writing to express the continuing request of my 
government that the Croatian government forward to the 
Sabor the U.S.-Croatian Memorandum of Understanding on 
Intellectual Property, signed in 1998.  I also write to 
express our concern that language to protect 
pharmaceutical test data has been removed from the draft 
Pharmaceutical Law.  This language, while not 
substituting for ratification of the Memorandum of 
Understanding, would help address one of our major 
concerns regarding Croatia's inadequate protection of 
the intellectual property rights of U.S. as well as 
other foreign companies.  Its deletion further calls 
into question the willingness of the Government of 
Croatia to fulfill its obligation to the U.S. to ratify 
the Memorandum of Understanding, which is an important 
outstanding matter in our relations. 
 
You will recall that the U.S. actively supported 
Croatia's entry to the WTO and has brought into effect 
the Bilateral Investment Treaty, both measures to which 
we agreed as part of a package with the Memorandum of 
Understanding.  We fulfilled our commitments in this 
matter; Croatia has not yet done so.  That failure led 
to Croatia being named to the U.S. Special 301 Watch 
List.  In the absence of concrete progress, Croatia will 
eventually face trade sanctions.  This is troubling, 
especially in the context of other recent 
disappointments in our bilateral relationship. 
Secretary of Commerce Evans and UnderSecretary of State 
 
SIPDIS 
Larson raised the issue of the Memorandum of 
Understanding with you during your trip to Washington 
last summer.  Assistant Secretary of State Jones raised 
this issue with the Foreign Minister in New York last 
autumn.  I myself have raised it with Deputy Prime 
Minister Simonic and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, 
Economy and Health.  My staff has discussed it on many 
occasions with working level counterparts.  In none of 
these conversations has the Croatian side contested that 
Croatia undertook the obligation to take all measures 
necessary to ratify the Memorandum of Understanding as 
soon as possible after signature. 
 
I urge that Croatia move from rhetorical recognition of 
its obligations to their fulfillment by moving the 
Memorandum of Understanding in its entirety to the Sabor 
for ratification now.  I also encourage the 
reintroduction of language on data exclusivity into the 
draft Pharmaceutical Law.  That would enable Croatia to 
implement its commitment under the Memorandum of 
Understanding to protect clinical test data as quickly 
as possible. 
 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Lawrence G. Rossin 
Ambassador 
 
MOON 
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