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During a joint press conference while visiting Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Pence went so far as to describe the U.S.-Chile deal, which entered into force 13 years ago, as a “model” for bilateral trade agreements, while in the next breath identifying areas of potential improvement for the South American nation.

“In many ways, the U.S.-Chile free trade agreement is a model of a mutually beneficial agreement between two nations,” Pence said. “But as I discussed today with President Bachelet, we believe it would be important for Chile to take steps to comply with the agreement’s intellectual property rights chapter to ensure a fair and level playing field for U.S. companies.”

Pence didn’t elaborate on what IP rules Chile is not following, but recent comments submitted to the government by the U.S. business community offer a clue. In this year’s edition of the so-called Special 301 report on IP compliance around the globe, the administration offered a fuller picture of the scene in Chile.

Among the main concerns of the U.S. business community is Chile’s lack of enforcement regarding efforts to get around encryptions and other technological protection measures, or TPMs, according to the report.

“The United States continues to urge Chile to implement both protections against the unlawful circumvention of TPMs and protections for encrypted program-carrying satellite signals,” the report said. “Chile also needs to ensure that effective administrative and judicial procedures, as well as deterrent remedies, are made available to right holders and satellite and cable service providers, including measures to address ongoing concerns with decoder boxes.”

Elsewhere in the report, the U.S. dinged Chile for its patent system, particularly with regard to pharmaceutical products. Specifically, the U.S. called on Chile to “provide adequate protection against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval” for new drugs.

Chile was placed on the Special 301 report’s Priority Watch List, the second-highest tier of monitored countries that ensures that U.S. government is keeping a watchful eye on Chile’s efforts to improve its IP regime.