WT/GC/W/883, WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1  
WT/COMTD/W/277, IP/C/W/700  
 
5 July 2023  
(23-4559) Page: 1/4 
General Council  
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology  
Committee on Trade and Development  
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
 
THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESILIENCE BUILDING:  
REINVIGORATING THE DISCUSSIONS IN THE WTO ON TRADE AND  
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY*  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE AFRICAN GROUP (ANGOLA; BENIN; BOTSWANA; BURKINA FASO; 
BURUNDI; CABO VERDE; CAMEROON; CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC; CHAD; CONGO; CÔTE 
D'IVOIRE; DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO; DJIBOUTI; EGYPT; ESWATINI; GABON; THE 
GAMBIA; GHANA; GUINEA; GUI NEA-BISSAU; KENYA; LESOTHO; LIBERIA; MADAGASCAR; 
MALAWI; MALI; MAURITANIA; MAURITIUS; MOROCCO; MOZAMBIQUE; NAMIBIA; NIGER; 
NIGERIA; RWANDA; SENEGAL; SEYCHELLES; SIERRA LEONE; SOUTH AFRICA;  
TANZANIA; TOGO; TUNISIA; UGANDA; ZAMBIA AND ZIMBABWE)  
The followin g communication, dated 3 July 2023, is being circulated at the request of the African 
Group.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  This contribution is submitted as a follow -up to the African Group submission tabled in the 
General Council held on 8 -9 March 2023 t itled "Policy space for industrial development - a case for 
rebalancing trade rules to promote industrialisation and to address emerging challenges such as 
climate change, concentration of production and digital industrialisation " (WT/GC/W/868, 
G/C/W/825, WT/COMTD/W/270, IP/C/W/695, WT/WGTTT/W/33). It is a contribution to the 
discussions and negotiations towards the reform of the WTO agreed by Ministers at MC12.  
1.2.  At the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001, Ministers agreed to "an 
exami nation, 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 technolo gy to developing countries .1" 
1.3.  The discussions on the relationship between trade and transfer of technology highlighted that 
"technology and technical know -how were essential for improving productivity, promoting growth, 
and attaining the development aspirations of less developed Members; and, that technology transfer 
can be an important tool to narrow the technological gap between developed and developing 
countries, and for integrating developing countries into the multilateral trading sys tem.2"  
1.4.  Over the years, a broad set of themes have emerged, some of which are cross -cutting in the 
WTO. Currently, the global economy is grappling with the polycrisis of inter alia, the COVID -19 
pandemic, food insecurity, climate change, slow and unequal economic growth, and a widening of 
the digital divide. As pointed out in the Africa n Group submission in WT/GC/W/868, various factors 
 
* This document was previously issued as WT/WGTTT/W/34 on 3 July 2023.  
1 Paragraph 37 of document WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1.  
2 Report  (2021) of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology to the General Council . 
 WT/GC/W/883 • WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1 • WT/COMTD/W/277 • IP/C/W/700  
 
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  have hampered global recovery including geopolitical volatility exacerbated by unilateral 
protectionist measures by major industrialised economies.  
1.5.  As part of the broader discussion on the need to channel the potential of WTO rules  to foster 
industrial development, and build resilience Members can benefit from a reinvigoration of the 
discussions on trade and transfer of techn ology across multiple WTO bodies including the Working 
Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology (Working Group) with a view to developing possible 
recommendations.  
2  OBJECTIVE  
2.1.  The reinvigoration of the discussions would be centered around the below -mention ed themes 
that are related to the issue of trade and transfer of technology. Every theme will be thoroughly 
analysed and discussed among Members in the relevant WTO bodies, with the objective of 
developing clear recommendations for Trade Ministers to consi der for adoption at the WTO MC13. 
Issue or Agreement -specific written submissions will be tabled in the relevant WTO bodies to 
complement this paper.  
3  THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS ON THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
3.1.  WTO rules on the transfer of technology are rel evant in the context of the TRIPS Agreement . 
The COVID -19 pandemic is the latest illustration of how WTO rules and the so -called flexibilities in 
the TRIPS Agreement have hampered Members' ability to respond reasonably to the multiple crises 
that ensued. I t has also prompted a deeper reflection on the utility of the TRIPS Agreement vis-à-
vis the manufacturing capacity of developing and least developed countries notably in the 
pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.  The reinvigoration of discussions in the T RIPS Council would 
delve deeper into the relationship between the promotion and dissemination of technology in way 
that benefits both its producers and users.  
3.2.  The role that digital technologies play in trade facilitation  reform is an area of growing 
interest to WTO Members. This paves the way for deeper reflections on the effects of digital 
technologies on the composition of trade especially in developing and least developed countries. 
Discussions will also examine how intellectual property protections tog ether with other institutional 
and regulatory determinants could affect the smooth transfer and diffusion of technology to 
developing countries, including least developed countries.  
3.3.  In the midst of the polycrisis, the transfer of technology is fundamental  when considering how 
to build agricultural resilience  to withstand, amongst others, the food security emergencies. In 
some parts of the world, technological developments including hybrid seed, fertilizers, pesticides, 
mechanical improvements, etc. have re volutionized agricultural trade. This has been done with 
important State interventions including strong institutional frameworks and research programmes 
to facilitate technology adaptation and adoption. Developing and least developed countries will 
greatly  benefit from an in -depth discussion on the role that international and regional Agriculture 
research centers play in promoting and disseminating technology, how products and technologies 
are developed (inputs, production, harvest, etc .), as well as consid ering a range of issues relating 
to water management, nitrogen and food waste reductions, etc.  
3.4.  WTO Members will greatly benefit from resetting the climate change  narrative in the WTO to 
an assessment of the application of existing WTO rules on technology transfer for diffusion of climate 
change technologies, including compulsory licensing. In light of existing international fora and 
environmental law principles, discussions in the WTO could focus on how to build deeper coherence 
and coordination to support  existing mechanisms and frameworks.  
3.5.  The 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce provides a broad framework for discussion 
on an area of extreme importance i.e., the safety and cybersecurity of hardware and software 
systems through Source Code . These d iscussions will assess the policy and legal considerations of 
balancing accessibility to source codes in the context of a secure, transparent and trusted technology 
environment.  WT/GC/W/883 • WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1 • WT/COMTD/W/277 • IP/C/W/700  
 
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  4  MODALITIES FOR DISCUSSIONS  
4.1.  The themes could be designed on the basis of the f ollowing parameters:  
a. Analyzing the relationship between transfer of technology and economic development. 
This may include but not limited to:  
i. Assessing the role of technology transfer in increasing production and in enhancing 
agriculture productivity and i n developing and least developed countries.  
ii. Assessing the role of Transfer of Technology as a means to enhancing industrial 
development and in diversifying their economies to better integrate into the regional 
and global value chains, including in the gree n economy.  
b. Assessing the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to promote 
technology transfer.  
c. Assessing the role of the "flexibilities " contained in the TRIPS agreement to promote 
technology transfer in areas relevant to pharmaceuticals a nd medical applications, 
treatments, medicines, diagnostics, therapeutics, biodiversity.  
d. Assessing the role of the "flexibilities " contained in the TRIPS agreement to promote 
technology transfer in areas relevant to climate change mitigation, decarbonizati on or 
green industrialization technologies, digitalization.  
e. Assessing the role of technical assistance and capacity building programs offered or 
granted by donors to developing and least developed countries, including an examination 
of technology transfer flows.  
f. Identification and assessment of incentives provided by developed countries, by virtue of 
their national regulations, to their enterprises and institutions to promote and encourage 
technology transfer to developing countries and in particular to LDC s (Article 66.2).  
g. How to best enable MSMES especially in developing and least developed countries to 
benefit from various technology transfer tools, instruments, agreements, and platforms?  
h. Assessing the effects of the introduction of patents on prices and welfare in developing 
and least developed countries (the case of pharmaceuticals and therapeutics).  
5  EXPERIENCE -SHARING  
5.1.  Members should be encouraged to share their domestic experiences on trade and transfer of 
technology in the Working Group and in other relevant WTO bodies on initiatives and programs 
Members have undertaken to promote the generation, management and transfer of technology.  
5.2.  Members may consider the possibility of exchanging information and best practices within their 
national laws and regu lations relevant to IP protection, trade facilitation and their relevance to the 
issue of technology transfer. This may include exchanging information on procedures related to the 
acquisition and maintenance of IPRs, particularly concerning how application s for IP protection are 
administered. Members may also share information on their methods of implementing the provisions 
of the TRIPS agreement within their own legal systems and practices, insofar as transfer of 
technology is concerned.  WT/GC/W/883 • WT/WGTTT/W/34/Rev.1 • WT/COMTD/W/277 • IP/C/W/700  
 
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  6  COLLABORATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS  
6.1.  For the purposes of the reinvigoration of the work, the analysis of the relationship between 
trade and transfer of technology may proceed on the basis of work carried out by, among others, 
the World Intellect ual Property Organization (WIPO)3, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
through the Platform for the Co -Development and Transfer of Technologies4, and the World Bank. 
The Working Group should benefit from and, to the extent practical, take the aca demic perspective 
on the relationship between trade and transfer of technology on board as we proceed with our 
discussions.  
6.2.  Upon invitation, relevant international organizations may be called upon to contribute to the 
discussions leading up to the possibl e recommendations for the future, more specifically, the possible 
outcome of MC13 on trade and transfer of technology to face global challenges in particular those 
related to building resilience to face pandemics, food insecurity, climate change and more g enerally, 
bridging the technological and digital divides between members and regions.  
7  ROLE OF AND COLLABORATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS  
7.1.  Most of the primary research is carried out by academic institutions or through public -private 
initiatives that are later o wned or commercialized by corporations. These stakeholders among others   
could be called upon to share their reflections on the issue at hand and explain how they would take 
the issue of technology transfer on board while conducting their businesses.  
7.2.  These inputs and presentations could then inform the Working Group and other relevant WTO 
bodies on the practices that the private sector employ to transfer and/or to diffuse technology 
especially to companies in developing countries. The practices that could  be investigated in this 
regard may include issues and practices pertaining to granting and usage of patent rights, 
Technology License Agreements, Voluntary Licensing/Agreements, and other relevant issues.  
7.3.  A deeper assessment is required to understand the role of the various tools and instruments 
used, both at the official "Gov. to Gov. " as well as among non -state actors (including research 
institutes, Universities), in the domain of technology transfer. This assessment should cover the 
pattern and trend of  the relevant tools, including, Licensed Technology, Licensor Technology, 
Research License, and Product Technology. Upon invitation, relevant external stakeholders may be 
invited to engage to clarify and explain their practices on issues of relevance to te chnology transfer. 
The purpose is to assess and determine the role and contribution of those tools in technology transfer 
among and within public research institutes.  
8  WAY FORWARD  
8.1.  It is proposed that the reinvigoration of work on trade and transfer of  technology commence 
as soon as possible in the Working Group and other relevant WTO bodies. This communication 
compliments WT/GC/W/868 on policy Space for industrial development and will be supported by a 
number of issue -specific submissions tabled in the  relevant competent bodies to ensure that a 
holistic examination is carried out .  
 
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3https://www.wipo.int/patents/en/technology/#:~:text=WIPO%20supports%20mutually -
beneficial%20technology%20tra nsfer%20through%20patent%20information,WIPO%20Committees%2C%20p
ublic-private%20partnerships%20and%20dispute%20resolution%20services , WIPO supports mutually -
beneficial technology transfer through patent information services, innovation support programs and tools, 
projects and activities by WIPO Committees, public -private partnerships and dispute resolution services. We also 
organize knowledge transfer -related activities, including capacity building and training on transfer of technology ". 
4 https://www.fao.org/plant -treaty/tools/transfer -of-technologies/en/ , the Platform was established as a 
direct follow -up of the  Rio Six -point Action Plan for the International Treaty  adopted in 2012 at the  Second  High-
Level Round Table of the Treaty , on the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development .