WT/WGTTT/25  
 
30 November 2023 
(23-8119) Page: 1/3 
   
 
  
REPORT (202 3) OF THE WORKING GROUP ON TRADE AND TRANSFER  
OF TECHNOLOGY TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL  
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Ministers agreed, at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha in November  2001, 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 developing countries".1 
The Working Group has reported on its work at each WTO Ministerial Meeting, at which the Ministers 
had reaffirmed their commitment to advance the work of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer 
of Technology and instructed the General Council to further repo rt to the Ministerial Sessions.  
1.2.  The Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology (WGTTT, or the Working Group) held 
three  formal meetings  in 2023, on 4 May, on 17  July, and on 13 October. The minutes of these  
meetings are contained in documents WT/WGTTT/M/6 9, WT/WGTTT/M/ 70, and WT/WGTTT/M/ 71, 
respectively . Members continued the analysis of the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology, as well as considered any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within 
the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries, the details of which 
are given below.  
1.3.  At the beginning  of the May 2023 meeting, the Working Group elected 
Ambassador  Sofia Boza Martinez of Chile as its Chairperson. At the same meeting, the Chairper son 
invited all Members to participate in the informal consultations  that she intended to convene with a 
view to seeking Members' suggestions to plan and structure future work so that the Working Group 
can fulfil its mandate . 
2  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND  TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
2.1.  During the year 202 3, work on the analysis  of the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology  continued.  At the May session, Members reiterated their commitment to advancing work. 
They recalled that deliberations at the previous session ( 68th session ) had been rich and useful . They 
included  contributions which  provided evidence of the role transfer of technology played in terms of 
trade and integration in the global economy, and in terms of meeting challenges related to inter alia  
pandemic preparedness, health, climate change, agriculture and e -commerce. Members wished that 
such discussions could take place in future meetings of the Working Group.  
2.2.  At the July meeting, the Chairperson gave a report on the informal consultations she had held 
with Members of the Working Group . Her statement is contained in document JOB/WGTTT/1 . During 
the consultations, all participating delegations a cknowledged the continued relevance of the Working 
Group's mandate and recognized the value of experience sharing within the Group to enhance 
understanding of the link between trade and the transfer of technology. The consultations also 
revealed a renewed interest among Members to present substantive proposals.  
2.3.  Considering the views expressed during the consultations, the Chairperson invited the Working 
Group to consider adopting a work programme to structure future work. The Chairperson further 
suggested that a possible work programme could include prioritized areas for technology transfer, 
mechanisms for cooperation, and proposals for outcomes, thereby facilitating deliberations in future 
meetings. Furthermore, it would enable the Working Group to plan wo rkshops and invite other 
 
1 Paragraph 37 of document WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 .  WT/WGTTT/25  
 
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  stakeholders, such as business and other international organizations, to share their experiences and 
best practices in technology transfer.  
2.4.  Based on consultations with Members and Member statements during the October meeting of 
the Working Group, t he Chairperson also suggested close collaboration between the Working Group 
and other relevant WTO bodies, including the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD), the 
Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and the TRIPS Council , with the  aim to foster the cross -
fertilization of ideas and ensure coherence in addressing the challenges related to technology 
transfer.  
3  ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN 
THE MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO  DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  
3.1.  Work on possible recommendations that the Working Group could make in the future  proceeded 
on the basis of two communications  submitted by Members.  One by the African Group on the role 
of transfer of technology in resilience building contained in document WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1 ; and 
the other, by the United Kingdom on intellectual property, voluntary licensing and technology 
transfer cont ained in document WT/WGTTT/W/35 .  
3.2.  A third communication, titled reinvigorating discussions on the relationship between trade and 
the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries to address climate 
change , contained in document  JOB/WGTTT/2  was introduced  by India but could not be considered , 
as the communication had been made available after the agenda for the October 2023 session had 
closed.  
3.3.  The Chairperson reiterated the importance of a formal submission made in 2008  by India, 
Pakistan,  and the  Philippines  - entitled "Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology 
Sourcing – A Step to Increase Flows of Technology to Developing Countries". The proponents 
informed the Working Group that they had been working with int erested Members on revising their 
submission and that they intended to provide updates in the near future.  
3.4.  The least developed countries (LDC) Group underscored the critical role technology played in 
increasing productivity and output, and to diversify eco nomies to better integrate into the regional 
and global value chains and level up their development. It also noted that advancing work to assist 
LDCs develop had been necessary and had become imperative because of persistent COVID -19 
socio-economic impacts , aggravated by food security concerns induced by geopolitical tensions.  
3.1  The role of transfer of technology in resilience building  - Communication from the 
African  Group  (WT/WGTTT/W/34/R ev.1) 
3.5.  At the July 2023 session, the Working Group started considering a communication presented 
by Egypt on behalf of the African Group titled "the role of transfer of technology in resilience building: 
reinvigorating the discussions in the WTO on trade and tran sfer of technology" contained in 
document WT/WGTTT/W/34/REV.1 . That communication supplements the African Group's 
communication on policy space for industrial development contained in document WT/GC/W/868 . 
Furthermore, it provides cover for five other topical submissions on transfer of technology and the 
Agreement on TRIPS  (WT/GC/W/884 ), agriculture  (WT/GC/W/885 ), climate change mitigation  and 
adaptation  (WT/GC/W/886 ), trade facilitation (WT/GC/W/887 ) and e -commerce  (WT/GC/W/8 88), 
which ha d been circulated  in relevant WTO bodies.  
3.6.  The communication seeks to reinvigorate technology transfer discussions within the WTO, and 
to focus on the following three themes: i) the determinants of technology transfer such as IP rights 
and their protection; ii) the applications of technology transfer including in agriculture, environment 
protection and to mitigate climate change, health protection, trade facilitation and e -commerce; 
and, iii) the promotion of t echnology transfer , including through sharing of domestic experiences, 
technical assistance or collaboration with non -governmental partners.  
3.7.  Members welcomed the communication's objectives . The Chairperson had noted convergence 
on some elements in that com munication , in particular, relative to the participation of external 
stakeholders to inform the Working Group's future deliberations, increasing the cooperation with WT/WGTTT/25  
 
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  other committees, including through the organization of joint sessions, and structuring an d planning 
activities in a work programme, which would help organize activities more efficiently.  
3.8.  Members sought clarifications regarding the further progress of their deliberations and how to 
avoid duplicating work in other WTO bodies. In response, the Af rican Group suggested  holding joint 
sessions  with other relevant WTO bodies , whenever appropriate.  
3.9.  At the October 2023 meeting, the Representative of Egypt, on behalf of the African Group, 
noted that the African Group had , since the July 2023 meeting , presented their communications on 
technology transfer in the relevant bodies , and that Members' reactions indicated interest in this 
topic. He observed that discussing the role of transfer of technology in the Working Group , as well 
as in other relevant bodies  remained  relevant ; and he expressed the African Group's readiness to 
start discussing possible outcomes on technology transfer at MC13 .  
3.10.   To advance the discussions on the matters proposed by the African Group, Egypt suggested 
that the Worki ng Group considers restructuring its agenda for future meetings in a manner that  
comprehensively reflects the themes and modalities contained in the African Group submission. 
Members asked for the proposal to be shared in writing for their internal consult ations . 
3.11.   Members expressed openness to continue discussions , including to identify ways to improve 
deliberations  in the Working Group  and to make them more constructive.   
3.2  Intellectual property, voluntary licensing and technology transfer  - Communication 
from the United  Kingdom  (WT/WGTTT/W /35) 
3.12.   At the October 2023 meeting, the United Kingdom presented its communication on Intellectual 
Property, Voluntary Licensing and Technology Transfer contained in document WT/WGTTT/W/35 . 
The stated objective of that communication is to explore how the WTO can utilize, encourage and 
increase voluntary licensing partnerships and apply lessons learned from the COVID -19 pandemic. 
It invites Members to contribute their experiences on voluntary licensing, particularly those  by 
developing and least developed Members.  
3.13.   The proponent suggested that factors which relate to IP should be discussed within the TRIPS 
Council; and that the WGTTT considers alongside other cross -cutting factors which create conditions 
for technology tran sfer to take place. Members welcomed the communication and stated their 
readiness to start a discussion in order to share experiences, identify best practices, and reach a 
better understanding on how to form successful partnerships that promote voluntary l icensing and 
technology transfer .  
3.14.   The Chair person  noted Members' convergence on experience sharing sessions and analysing 
lessons learned from technology transferred through voluntary licensing. She also suggested  that a 
comprehensive examination of voluntary licensing should look at its limitations and also consider 
other models.  
4  FUTURE WORK  
4.1.  Members have contin ued their examination of the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology and of any possible recommendations on steps that might be made within the mandate 
of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries. The ongoing work has c overed 
a number of issues and has helped to enhance Members' understanding of the nexus between trade 
and transfer of technology. The Working Group will continue to look at these issues in the coming 
year.  
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