Washington, 02/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - In the annual report on section 301 of the American legislation, the United States singles out many countries for infringement of intellectual property rights, including the European Union, which failed to provide answers to protect the geographic origin of American agricultural and food products. The report underlines the strong determination of the Administration to guarantee to Americans that they effectively reap the fruits of the trade agreement we negotiate, underlined the Trade Representative in a statement published on Monday. Washington will not hesitate to use sanctions and other measures foreseen by this retaliatory legislation in order to ensure the protection of copyrights, patents and brands, he added. In terms of respect for intellectual property, 16 trading partners have been written into a priority monitoring list (special 301 Priority Watch List), or just a little less than the priority list of third countries on which the Ukraine is present, already eligible for unilateral sanctions as of next 12 June. The report nevertheless reveals that progress achieved in numerous trade disputes with the Union, including that concerning bananas. Over hormone treated meat, we continue to work on more effective means to resolve it, added a person close to the Trade Representative. He added, concerning Airbus subsidies, for which we are presently examining information that we have received from the EU and in relation to our conclusions we will be able to determine the next stage in the process.