Speaking before the DSB, Cuba’s ambassador to Geneva, Rodolfo Reyes, deplored the rhetoric of the representatives of the administration of Barack Obama when they say that they are working with the US Congress to comply with the WTO recommendations.

Reyes specifically referred to Section 211 of the US’s Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998 and its incompatibility with international law with regards to intellectual property.

This regulation was introduced into the Omnibus Appropriations Act at the behest of Bacardi in order to bar Havana Club Holding (HCH) from protecting its trade mark Havana Club in the United States.

Havana Club Holding owns registration of the Havana Club trademark in 183 countries and has the right to acquire the US registration from Cubaexport, which registered the mark in the United States in 1976.

India, Ecuador, China, Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina, Angola and Nicaragua expressed their support of Cuba and showed their concern for this negative precedent and the US Government’s lack of willingness to comply with its international obligations.