RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/M/8 
5 July 2004 
 (04-2878) 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
Eighth Session   
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 3 MAY 2004 
 
Chairman H.E. Mr. Stefan Johannesson (Iceland) for items A and B  
H.E. Mr. Jaynarain Meetoo ( Mauritius ) for items C to F 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA ............................................................................................1  
B. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON ................................................................................................1  
C. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY ............1  
D. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MANDATE OF THE WTO  TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES ............................................................................................................................... ...2 
E. OTHER TOPICS RAISED BY MEMBERS .........................................................................................3  
F. OTHER BUSINESS ........................................................................................................................3  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA  
1. The draft agenda contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/2294 of 15 April 2004 was adopted  as 
amended.   
B. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  
2. On the basis of  consultations held by the Chairman  of the General Council, the Working 
Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology accordingly elected  H.E. Mr. Jaynarain Meetoo as 
Chairman  of the Working Group.  
3. Members expressed their gratitude to th e outgoing Chairman of the Group, 
Ambassador Johannesson, for his tireless efforts, de dication and the hard work that he had put in 
steering the work of the Working Group.  
C. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
4. Continuing the analysis of the relationship between Trade and Transfer of Technology a 
number of developing country Members reiterated th at the Working Group was an important element 
of the Doha Work Programme.  They said that although the Working Group had discussed a number of issues during the course of its analysis of the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, these discussions had not been exhaus tive.  For instance, Members had not been able to consider in 
detail, the role of home country measures in fac ilitating and encouraging tran sfer of  technology to 
developing countries.  In that context, referenc e was made to the Secretariat note "A Taxonomy on 
Country Experiences on International Technol ogy Transfers" (WT/WGTTT/W/3) which had 
identified some of the barriers to transfer of t echnology to developing countries and the policies and WT/WGTTT/M/8 
Page 2  
 
 strategies that would facilitate technology transfer.  However, the note had tended to focus more on 
the host country perspective in identifying policy options and instruments that would facilitate 
technology transfer.  It would help if Members shared their experiences and ideas on that kind of 
policy measures and incentives which, if adopted by the developed countries, would facilitate transfer 
of technology to developing countries in partic ular to the Least-Developed Countries (LDCs).  
5. A number of delegations stated that the tw o submissions by the European Communities 
contained in WT/WGTTT/1 and WT/WGTTT/W/5 were useful contributions, the elements of which 
could be further discussed in the context of the fu ture work of the Working Group.  They requested 
the European Communities to consider making a suppl ementary submission on different channels of 
transfer of technology detailed in the paper and to elaborate some of the issues raised in these 
submissions.  Delegations also emphasised the impor tance of taking a holistic view on the relationship 
between trade and transfer of technology.  Referenc e was also made to a submission made by a group 
of developing countries (WT/WGTTT/W/6) which contained a number of possible recommendations on ways to increase  technology transfer to developing countries.  
6. Some delegations were of the view that  although the Working Group had done useful 
analytical work in identifying broad themes related to transfer of technology, further work was needed  
to elaborate and develop a common and a shared understanding of the issues.  They felt that the analysis of the relationship between trade and transf er of technology should remain a standing item of 
the agenda of the Working Group.  They also stated  that any proposed recommendations should flow 
out of the discussions of the Working Group and should be supported by facts so as to ensure consistency with the mandate of the Working Group.  An organic link between the analytical work of 
the Working Group and any possible recommendations  would result in a more credible and sound 
outcome.  Delegations agreed that the Working Gr oup should have a more focused work programme 
and highlighted the fact that technology transfer was a two-way process.  It was therefore important 
that the Working Group, on the one hand, consider what could be done by developed countries or the 
private sector in developed countries, which in mo st cases were the actual owners of the technology, 
to facilitate technology transfer and, on the other hand, what could be done to improve the enabling 
environment in the recipient developing countries in cluding in terms of both the regulatory structures 
and the capacity of the host country to assimilate technology.  
7. Members felt that it would be useful to continue  further work on this agenda item in the next 
meeting of the Working Group on the basis of some  of the elements of the European Communities' 
submissions as well as on any additio nal submissions that they or any other Member may introduce. 
D. A
NY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MANDATE OF THE WTO  TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
8. A number of delegations were of the view that the analytical wo rk carried out to examine the 
relationship between trade and transfer of technol ogy had been very useful.  They highlighted a 
number of issues that had emerged from those discussions, including among others, an 
acknowledgement of the fact that it was the most critical determinant of competitiveness and that it 
was critical for development;  the role of hom e and host countries, including the need for an 
appropriate enabling environment;  the increasi ng technological gap between developed and 
developing countries;  a high concentration of inn ovation activity in a relatively small number  of 
developed countries, etc.  In this context, so me delegations recalled that on the basis of the 
discussions in the Working Group, a group of devel oping countries had presented a joint submission 
(WT/WGTTT/W/6) outlining certain recommendations th at in their view could facilitate technology 
transfer.  However, they admitted that discussions on that submission had not been exhaustive.  They 
believed that it was time for Members to focus th eir attention on this issue and develop suitable 
recommendations to facilitate transfer of technolog y to developing countries.  They had submitted  WT/WGTTT/M/8 
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 some concrete ideas and urged other Members to  engage constructivel y to develop suitable 
recommendations that the Working Group could make.    
9. Transfer of technology was crucial for achievi ng growth and economic development.  It was 
mainly through strengthening of their technological  capabilities, that developing and least-developed 
countries could be helped to integrate into the global production chain.  It was important that 
Members now proceed in a more focused, pragmatic and practical manner and to build on the 
elements contained in WT/WGTTT/3/Rev.1 (which contained provisions relating to transfer of 
technology in WTO Agreements) and WT /WGTTT/W/6 (which contained possible 
recommendations).  In addition, the Working Group could also explore means of operationalizing the 
various transfer of technology channels, including more effective preferential schemes for improved 
market access opportunities and flexible rules of origin, governmental programmes for business 
partnerships, research and technology partnerships , incentives for patent holders and incentives to 
MNEs by home countries to promote technology transfer and application of performance 
requirements by host countries. 
10. It was agreed that at the next meeting of the Working Group, Members begin an in-depth 
analysis of the first two recommendations contai ned in document WT/WGTTT/W/6, relating to the 
provisions in WTO Agreements which pertained to technology transfer and those which might have 
the effect of hindering such transfer. 
E. OTHER TOPICS RAISED BY MEMBERS  
11. Members did not raise any issue under this agenda item. 
F. OTHER BUSINESS  
12. Under "Other Business" UNCTAD  introduced its publication on ''Trans fer of Technology for 
Successful Integration into the Global Economy''.  The representative from UNCTAD stated that the publication contained three parts.  Part I provi ded a general overview of the main findings and 
conclusions of three case studies and interpreted the significance of those findings in the wider context of technological upgrading.  Part II gave the details of the three case studies.  And finally, 
Part III contained an analysis of the case studies in light of multilateral rules with a view to 
identifying the relevance of WTO rules for particular  policy efforts related to technology transfer and 
capacity building. 
13. Members were also informed that UNCT AD was commissioning further case studies on 
transfer of technology involving selected sectors in  some medium-sized developing countries.  These 
would also be made available to delegates. 
14. Before concluding the meeting, the Chairman
 informed the Members that the next meeting of 
the Working Group has been tentatively scheduled for 13 July 2004.  
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