DPE Welcomes USTR’s Annual Special 301 Report on Global IP Protection and Enforcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2026 - This week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report, assessing intellectual property protection and enforcement among U.S. trading partners.
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement on this year’s Special 301 Report:
“The 2026 Special 301 Report makes clear what union creative professionals have long known: strong global IP protection is not a trade abstraction, it is the foundation of their livelihoods. I commend Ambassador Greer, USTR staff, and their interagency partners for a report that takes that reality seriously.
Members of the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industries (AEMI) unions within DPE depend on robust IP enforcement to secure fair wages, health and pension benefits, and future work opportunities through legitimate sales and licensing. When those protections fail abroad, real working people pay the price.
I welcome the report’s recognition that stakeholders have raised serious concerns about the use of copyrighted works to train AI systems and that the U.S. government supports legal frameworks to ensure copyrights are respected in AI development. Generative AI has only intensified the urgency of effective global IP enforcement. Tech companies must not be permitted to exploit the work of union creative professionals without consent, compensation, and credit.”
About DPE
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.