WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/6 
1 December 2004 
 (04-5238) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2004) OF THE WORK ING GROUP ON TRADE AND  
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology was established at the Fourth 
Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001, with the following mandate:
1 
"We agree to an examination,  in a Working Group under the auspices of the General 
Council, of the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, and of any 
possible recommendations on steps that might  be taken within the mandate of the 
WTO to increase flows of technology to de veloping countries.  The General Council 
shall report to the Fifth Session of the Ministerial Conference on progress in the examination." 
2. Since its report to the General Council in 2003
2, the Working Group has held three formal 
sessions on 3 May 2004, 19 July 2004 and 10 November  2004.  The Minutes of these meetings are 
contained in documents WT/WGTTT/M/8, WT/WGTTT/M/9 and WT/WGTTT/M/103 respectively.  
A number of informal meetings were also held dur ing this period to discuss the way forward and the 
structure of future work in the Working Group.  Me mbers agreed that they would pursue the work by 
continuing the analysis of the relationship betw een trade and transfer of technology as well as 
discussing any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries.   
II. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY 
3. During discussions on the relationship between tr ade and transfer of technology, Members 
agreed that a number of pertinent issues had b een raised during the course of the Working Group's 
analysis of this issue.  However, they felt th at these discussions had not been exhaustive and that 
further work was needed to elaborate and develop a better understanding of the issues.  They agreed 
on the need for a more focused discussion and reite rated the importance of taking a holistic view on 
the relationship between trade and transfer of tech nology.  In that context, Members agreed that 
revisiting earlier submissions tabl ed in the Working Group would provide useful contributions to 
continuing this work.  Reference was also made to the Secretariat note "A Taxonomy on Country Experiences on International Technology Transfers"
4 which had identified some of the barriers to 
transfer of technology and the policies and strategies  that would facilitate technology transfer.  Some 
Members felt that the note focused more on the hos t country perspective in identifying policy options 
and instruments that would facilitate technology tr ansfer and suggested th at Members share their 
experiences and ideas on the types of policy measures and incentives which, if adopted, would facilitate technology transfer. 
                                                     
 
1 Paragraph 37 of WT/MIN/(01)/DEC/W/1 
2 WT/WGTTT/5 
3 To be issued. 
4 WT/WGTTT/W/3 WT/WGTTT/6 
Page 2  
 
 4. At the Eighth Session, UNCTAD also introduced its publication ''Transfer of Technology for 
Successful Integration into the Global Economy''.  The publication provided (i) a general overview of 
the main findings and conclusions of three case st udies and the significance of those findings in the 
wider context of technological upgrading;  (ii) details  of the case studies;  and (iii) an analysis of the 
case studies in light of multilateral rules in order to identify policy efforts related to technology 
transfer and capacity building.  At the Ninth Session, Members requested UNCTAD to inform the 
Working Group on its work on home country measur es and corporate responsibility in the field of 
technology transfer. 
5. At the Tenth Session, while acknowledging that th e relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology was a multifaceted and complex issue, Members underlined the importance of the 
definitional issues, various channels of tec hnology transfer, host country measures, enabling 
environment (e.g., IPRs, investment regime, regulatory structure, good governance, building 
infrastructure), and human resource/capacity building,  etc. and said that these were the areas that the 
Working Group needed to focus upon for a bette r understanding of the issue.  Some Members 
expressed the view that a better understanding of the linkage could be possible if the Working Group 
undertook a thorough examination of provisions relating to transfer of  technology in the various WTO 
Agreements.  In this regard they  alluded  to the TRIPs Agreement, TRIMs Agreement and GATS, and 
to Article 10.1 of the SPS Agreement and to Article 12.3 of the TBT Agreement. 
6. UNCTAD also made its study on "A Survey of Home Country Measures" available for 
discussion at the Tenth Session of the Working Group.  The study highlighted the role of home country measures in technology transfer, including incentives, the role of the home country 
government and the private sector, and what other e fforts could be made to facilitate transfer of 
technology.  Members highlighted the importance of pa rtnership in technology transfer and for it to be 
a win-win situation for both home and host countries.   It was generally felt that in order for the 
Working Group to take a holistic view of the issue it would be necessary to look at all the elements 
including channels of technology transfer;  the role of the government;  the role of the private sector;  
host country measures;  the enabling environment and the absorptive capacity of the host country, etc. 
While acknowledging that a regulatory framework in  the host country to attract technology was 
crucial, some Members reiterated that home c ountry measures could complement and reinforce host 
country efforts to acquire technology.  Such measu res could include policies which provide financing 
for transfer of technology, incentives to stimul ate FDIs with a technology transfer component, 
incentives for Small and Medium Enterprises seeking pa rtners in developing countries, simplification 
of rules of origin and the establishment of a database to ensure the flow of all relevant information on 
technology.  Possible linkages between "Home C ountry Measures" and "Corporate Developmental 
Responsibility" were also underscored. 
III. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN 
WITHIN THE MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF 
TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
7. Members agreed to base their discussions on the joint submission on "Possible 
Recommendations on Steps that might be taken within the Mandate of the WTO to Increase Flows of Technology to Developing Countries"
5 tabled by a group of developing countries.  
The submission indicates a number of areas wher e the proponents felt that recommendations 
could be made by the Working Group on steps that could be taken to facilitate transfer of 
technology to developing countries.  It was agreed that at the Ninth Session, Members would 
address the first two recommendations contained in the submission, namely to undertake an examination of the different provisions in th e WTO Agreements which relate to technology 
                                                     
 
5 WT/WGTTT/W/6 and Add.1  WT/WGTTT/6 
 Page 3 
 
 
 transfer and to consider provisions which ma y have the effect of hindering technology 
transfer to developing countries.   
8. At the Ninth Session some Members highlighted a number of provisions in the TRIPS 
Agreement relating to technology transfer which they felt should be ma de more effective and 
operational.  Other Members felt that the Worki ng Group was not a negotiating body and therefore 
not the appropriate forum in which to amend existi ng provisions relating to transfer of technology.  
These Members felt that a discussion on the implications of the different provisions on the transfer of technology should be taken up in the relevant WTO bodies.  Some Members, however, felt that 
Members should not limit the scope of the discussions in the Working Group.  Members also reiterated the need for any proposed recommendations to flow from the discuss ions and the need for 
an organic link between any possible recommendations and the analytical work of the Working 
Group.  Members continued their discussions of the first two recommendations at the Tenth Session.  While some Members felt that work in the Wo rking Group should not duplicate the work being done 
in the relevant WTO bodies, others reiterated that the intention was to build upon the work being done 
elsewhere.  In this context it was agreed that the Working Group would seek inputs from the Council 
for Trade in Services about the implementation of Articles IV and XXV of GATS. 
 
__________