RESTRICTED  
  
WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
21 November  2022 
(22-8678) Page: 1/7 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology  
Sixty -Seventh Session    
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  12 MAY 2022 
Chairperson:  H.E. Dr. Le Thi Tuyet Mai (Viet Nam ) up to item B; and  
H.E. Luis Chuquihuara Chil (Peru)  for items C, D and E  
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. ELECTION OF THE NEW CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ... 1 
C. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
D. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAK EN WITHIN  
THE MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  6 
E. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 7 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
The Chairperson  said that the draft agenda for the 67th Session of the Working Group on Trade 
and Transfer of Technology (WGTTT) wa s contained in document WTO/AIR/WGTTT/ 20, circulated on 
29 April 2022. The Working Group was invited to raise any matter under other business.   
The circulated agenda was  adopted . 
B. ELECTION OF THE  NEW  CHAIRPERSON  
The Chairperson  recalled that, at the General Council meeting of 24  February  2022, the names 
of the WTO Chairpersons for 2022 were announced, including Ambassador  Luis Chuquihuara  Chil, 
Permanent Representative of Peru to the WTO and other International Organizations in Geneva , as 
the Chairperson of the WGTTT for 2022. Ambassador Chuquihuara  Chil had been Permanent 
Representative of Peru to the WTO since September 2021. Prior to th at appointment, Ambassador 
Chuquihuara  Chil had served in other  senior capacities, including as Secretary General of the 
Presidency of the Republic of Peru, and on diplomatic assignments including as Permanent 
Representative to the Organization of American States and to the European Union  (EU). The Working 
Group  was invited to formally elect Ambassador Chuquihuara  Chil as the Chairperson of the WGTTT  
for 2022.  
The Working Group elected  Ambassador  Chuquihuara Chil as the Chairperson  of the WGTTT . 
C. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  
Before turning to the agenda item under discussion, t he Chairperson  thanked Members for the 
confidence they had placed in him by electing him Chairperson of the WGTTT; and stated his 
commitment to working closely with Members with the objective of advanci ng the WGTTT work.  He 
also thanked his predecessor , Ambassador  Le of Viet  Nam,  for her leadership in steering the work 
of the WGTTT over the past year.  
The Chairperson  recalled that, under this agenda item at the sessions of the Working Group held 
in 2021, deliberations had underscored the role that technology could play as a driver of trade and WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  economic development; and , that some Members had said that the path to innovation and 
technology could lead to dev elopment and industrialization creating wealth, jobs and improving 
standards of living. He also said that Members felt  that rapid technological advances and increasing 
information -driven global economy had been  impacting competitiveness and market opportun ities 
of specific groups and regions. He also recalled that those deliberations had underscored the 
importance of constructive and meaningful work in the WGTTT in addressing th ose challenges.  
The Chairperson said  that the WGTTT  needed to target discussion  on specific and practical ways 
to address the needs and challenges faced by developing countries, in particular the LDCs. He went 
on to say that  sharing of national experiences and consideration of concrete examples on how some 
Members had overcome those difficulties in advancing rapidly on the technology frontier had been 
valuable, and that some  Members had  expressed the wish  that it led the WGTTT to formulating 
concrete recommendations.  The Working Group was invited to share any related element which  
could shed light on the nexus between trade and transfer of technology.  
The delegate of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group,  congratulated the Chairperson on his election 
and thanked his predecessor, Ambassador  Le of Viet  Nam, for her stewardship of the WGTTT. H e 
said that advancing the WGTTT work to assist LDCs to level up their development had been 
necessary and had become imperative because of lingering COVID -19 socio-economic impacts , 
aggravated by increasing food security pressures. He also said that example s of technology transfer 
presented during the 37th Round of the Director -General's Consultative Framework Mechanism on 
Cotton  illustrated the usefulness of technology and the need to transfer technology to assist  LDCs 
to meet the needs of their peoples , in particular relative to food shortages, competitiveness in 
international markets, youth and e -commerce.  
The delegate of Brazil  congratulated t he Chairperson on his election and thanked his predecessor, 
Ambassador Le of Viet Nam, for her stewardship of the WGTTT. He went on to further present the 
communication in document WT/GC/W/845 titled , "Intellectual Property, Transfer of Technology and 
Capacity Building for COVID -19 and beyond" which his delegation had initially  presented to the 
General Council at its 9-10 May 2022 meeting, as he viewed a connection with the mandate of the 
WGTTT.  
The delegate of Brazil reiterated  his delegation's commitment  to contributing solutions for 
enhancing the level of global preparedness against the COVID -19 and other possible future 
pandemics. He said that the WTO response , and the mobilization of resources towards the common 
goal of tackling the challenges posed by  COVID -19, were a testament to the role that the 
Organization had in assisting Members, particularly the LDCs and developing countries, in addressing 
challenges they had been facing. He went on to express the understanding that there had been  a 
wide range of economic measures that could be leveraged when facing a health emergency ; and 
that there was scope for broader discussions, beyond the CO VID-19 pandemic. For that reason, he 
strongly encouraged Members  to renew their commitment to employ the full scope and ability 
afforded by the Marrakesh Agreement to address  health issues that afflicted developing and least 
developed countries.  
The delegate of Brazil also said that there had been neglected diseases  which continued to 
constitute a major cause of loss o f productivity and aggravat ed poverty in the developing countries; 
and, that it also continued hindering  the economic potential of over 1.5 billion people which, in turn, 
prevented some regions from fully integrating into global value chains. He went on to say that  those 
diseases had been to a large extent  poverty induced, as the limited purchasing power of 
governments and patients meant that conventional markets did not pr ovide an incentive to the 
private sector to develop needed medical goods.  
The delegate of Brazil also said that since 2020, technologies that increased the speed and 
efficacy of response to future pathogens, including other variants of COVID -19, had emerg ed; and, 
that they provided important tools to combat epidemics, including in the developing world. He went 
on to say that, as Members strived towards global preparedness for future health emergencies, no 
efforts should be spared in supporting the construc tion of sound scientific, technological and 
productive capacity in the developing world; and, that transfer of technology was a powerful tool to 
that end. He invited Members to endeavour  creating  innovative and resilient health and 
pharmaceutical sectors w here needed, and to commit to providing timely and sustained support, in 
partnership with the relevant stakeholders, to transfer of technology initiatives to developing and 
least developed countries. He said that a balanced and comprehensive result on trad e and health WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  must not perpetuate negligence; and that in Brazil's perspective, the WTO needed to deliver a 
statement of support for technology transfer to developing  countries , including to tackle neglected 
tropical disease.  
The delegate of the European Un ion (EU)  congratulated the Chairperson on his election and 
thanked his predecessor for her stewardship of the WGTTT. He said that technology transfer was 
but one component of a more complex project, rather than a stand -alone activity; and that the 
acquisit ion by developing countries, LDCs in particular, of a sound and viable technological base did 
not depend solely on the provision of technology or equipment, but also on the acquisition of 
know -how, management and production skills, improved access to knowl edge sources , and on 
adaptation to local economic conditions. He went on to say that amongst the most important 
pre-requisites of technology transfer was the improvement of the absorptive capacity, which he 
defined as the availability of human capital and presence of technological capability and other 
factors, such as access to finance and infrastructure, which helps assimilate and replicate knowledge 
gained from external sources.  
The delegate of the EU said that absorptive capacity was key for diffusion o f knowledge, 
originating domestically or abroad, and thus for determining how technology could contribute to 
economic transformation and "catching -up" of a country. He added that i t could also influence 
technology holders’ incentives to promote transfer an d diffusion of knowledge ; and that  policies 
aimed at improving absorptive capacity could  help to remove some of the key bottlenecks to 
technology transfer, particularly in LDCs.  He went on to say that efforts to encourage and promote 
technology transfer had been limited by two factors:  Firstly, that in most cases, governments did  
not own the technologies  and that the private , and particularly the commercial sector , had been the 
main source of technologies.  And s econd ly, that governments could not force the private sector to 
transfer its technologies ; incentives could  therefore only take the form of encouragement, promotion 
and facilitation of projects which had been  part of a n overall  and comprehensive approach to 
development.  
The delegate of the EU also sa id that technology transfer could  promote trade and development, 
but it could also fuel or perpetuate an unjust war ; and that w ith the goal of restoring peace where 
there was war, the EU had taken several series of sanctions against the Russia Federation in view 
of its war of aggression against Ukraine. He added that as to the causes and consequences of 
Russia’s war of choice, he referred the WGTTT to the EU’s statement made at the General Co uncil 
meeting held on 10 May 2022. He highlighted that o f the EU’s countermeasures , one was related to 
the field of expertise of WGTTT ; and said that  the EU had been obliged to restrict the export of 
equipment, dual -use goods and technology to Russia in or der to curtail its capacity to wage war in 
Europe and threaten world peace. He also said that t o continue technology transfer to Russia, while 
its invasion of Ukraine had been  continuing unabated, would have been irresponsible, and 
unjustified.  
The delega te of India congratulated the Chairperson on his election and thanked his 
predecessor , Ambassador  Le, for her stewardship of the WGTTT. He said that India intended to 
reinvigorate discussions in the WGTTT to potentially explore the cross -cutting mandates o n 
technology assistance contained in the WTO agreements and ministerial declarations. He went on to 
say that technological growth and advancement were a prerequisite for attaining the development 
goals and aspirations for all Members; and to that end, tech nology transfer was an important tool 
to narrow the growing technological gap between developed and developing countries, and for better 
integrating developing countries into the global economy.  
The delegate of India also said that the WGTTT could explore technology transfer provisions in 
emerging areas of global commons , such as the technological solutions to the climate crisis; and 
that that would also assist in reinvigorating the discussions in the WGTTT which, despite two decades 
of work, was yet to del iver its mandate d outcomes . 
The delegate of India thanked Brazil for their submission and said that it presented cogent and 
plausible arguments in the context of the pandemic. He also said that vulnerabilities of developing  
countries  and LDCs in terms of a ccess to technology and technical know -how, had constrained the 
pace and limited the capacity of the world to combat the pandemic; and that the need for technology 
and know -how transfer had been all the more imperative for saving lives, livelihoods and ens uring 
economic recovery. He urged Members to pay serious attention to the trade and technology transfer WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  issues, and to support pragmatic solutions to the technological challenges facing the developing 
countries; and pledged to endeavour with the Members to  that end.  
The delegate of Peru congratulated the Chairperson on his election and thanked his predecessor, 
Ambassador  Le, for her contribution to the work of the WGTTT.  He said that against the backdrop of 
lingering impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic, coupled with the climate change effects and the 
negative consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; technology transfer could impact 
the very survival and livelihood of populations. He said that, consequently, it was urgent to re vitalize 
the work of the WGTTT; for instance, by looking at new formulae to smooth the flow of technology 
transfer, and the conditions of countries vulnerable to food insecurity, climate change and energy 
deficit.  
The delegate of Peru said that his countr y was the second largest importer of fertilizers from 
Ukraine and Russia and that their conflict had been also affecting Peru. That background gave 
increased importance to green fertilizers technology and to their transfer , as it provided a way to 
offset t he shortfall of foodstuffs. He went on to say that similarly, hydrogen and clean and renewable 
energy technology provided ways to strengthen economic growth while combating climate change.  
The delegate of Peru also thanked Brazil for further presenting its presentation . He underscored 
the importan t role technology transfer played in capacity building, to address  the pandemic, and for 
future pandemic preparedness. He expressed the view that  the WGTTT had been the appropriate 
forum for discussing technology transfer including that in the context of pandemic response.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom (UK)  congratulated the Chairperson on his election and 
thanked his predecessor, Ambassador  Le, for her contribution to the WGTTT.  She said that her 
delegation could not ignore that the Russian Federation  had been using technology to commit 
atrocious acts against the people of Ukraine; and , that that had not only been an egregious violation 
of international law and the UN Charter, bu t that it also undermin ed the mandate and spirit of the 
WTO and of the WGTTT. She went on to say that her delegation wished to reiterate, in the strongest 
terms, condemnation of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine; and , that that  was why on 25 April  2022, 
the UK took steps to prevent Russia from accessing technology that it could use to repress the people 
of Ukraine.  She added that w hile Russia continue d its invasion, th ose impacts w ould persist, to the 
detriment of Ukraine and the rest of the world. She additi onally said that the poorest and most 
vulnerable countries would  be hit hardest by Russia’s illegal war ; and that Russia’s actions had 
impeded Ukraine’s ability to fully participate in the work of the WTO . She also said  that the UK stood 
united with its international partners in calling on Russia to end the invasion.  
The delegate of the United Kingdom also thank ed Brazil for its present ation and said that she 
would welcome Brazil’s more concrete thoughts on how the WGTTT could be meaningfully 
invigorated within the existing TRIPS framework and other existing WTO Agreements.  She also said 
that t rilateral cooperation, such as that between WHO -WIPO -WTO was a helpf ul initiative to support 
Members in their thinking on th ose issues.  
The delegate of Viet Nam  joined previous delegations in congratulating the Chairperson on his 
election and thanking his predecessor for her contributions to the work of the WGTTT. He also  
thanked the delegation of Brazil for the presentation made. He went on to say that transfer of 
technology had been of importance to developing Members and even more so in the COVID -19 
pandemic context . He also said that his delegation share d the view that transfer of technology 
provided a solution to cope with existing endemics and future pandemics , and also to address other 
challenges including sustainable development, environment and climate change.  
The delegate of Viet Nam also said that his delegation  had shared its domestic experience and 
lessons learned at the October 2021 session of the WGTTT ; and that it had indicated that building a 
facilitative, open and transparent domestic  enviro nment positively contributed to technology 
transfer. He also expre ssed the wish that more delegations share  their domestic experiences to 
better identify best practices.  
The delegate of Indonesia  associated with  previous delegations in congratulating the 
Chairperson on his election and thanking his predecessor for her co ntributions to the work of the 
WGTTT. She welcomed the communication contained in document WT/GC/W/845 presented by 
Brazil and expressed willingness to engage  in its next steps . She reiterated the importance her WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  delegation attached to transfer of technolog y and know -how to developing countries to achieve , 
inter alia , equal access to vaccines and medicines which, in turn, would create global health 
preparedness and resilience.  
 The delegate of the Russian Federation  joined previous delegations in congratulating the 
Chairperson on his election and thanking his predecessor for her contributions to the work of the 
WGTTT. He also said that his delegation was disappointed to note  that, despite a precise meeting 
agenda, some Members had distort ed technical meetings at the WTO and made unimportant and 
irrelevant statements which contradicted the mandate s both of the meeting and of the Organization. 
He went on to say that unfounded allegations, made by some Members , belonged t o other 
international organization; and  that, in that regard, the Security Council of the United Nations was 
the only body empowered by the UN Charter to impose sanctions under its Article  41 to restore 
national peace and security, that the UN General Asse mbly resolution 11/1 of 2  March  2022 had not 
introduced sanctions against the Russian Federation, and that there were no UN sanctions against 
the Russian Federation. He also said that some delegations seemed to intentionally attempt to distort 
the provisio ns of the UN Charter in bad faith, and to mislead other Members for political reasons. He 
said that Russia reject ed all imputations and urged those  Members to abstain from hijacking and 
undermining the agenda of the meeting and , to stick to professional an d rational behaviour at the 
WTO.  
The delegate of the Russian Federation also thanked Brazil for the communication it presented 
at the meeting and said that it had been referred to capital for examination.  
 The delegate of Japan  associated with  previous de legations in congratulating the Chairperson 
on his election and thanking his predecessor for her contributions to the work of the WGTTT.   
He thanked Brazil for the submission and presentation of its communication. He said that his 
delegation agreed with th e view that innovation was disseminated and facilitated through technology 
transfer based on voluntary licensing practice; and that such voluntary licensing practice made 
possible the rapid production and dissemination of COVID -19 vaccines. He also acknowl edged the 
importance of technology transfer and dissemination to developing countries, as provided for in the 
Agreement on TRIPS and its Annex, which entered into force in 2017; and said that his delegation 
stood ready to engage constructively in discussio ns on that matter if any concrete proposals were 
put forward in the future.  
The delegate of Japan  also said that his delegation wished to condemn Russia’s aggression 
against Ukraine, in the strongest terms, as it infringed upon Ukraine’s sovereignty and t erritorial 
integrity, and constituted a serious violation of international law; and he said that Japan also strongly 
urged Russia to cease the attack and withdraw its forces back to Russian territory without delay; 
and that Japan stood in solidarity with U kraine and its people.  
The delegate of the United States  joined other delegates in congratulating the Chairperson on 
his election and extended her thanks to his predecessor. She said that her delegation wished to 
reiterate its strong support for Ukraine an d joined others in condemning Russia’s premeditated and 
unprovoked attack on Ukraine.  She called upon Russia to immediately cease its use of force against 
Ukraine and refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any UN member state.  
The delegate of the United States thanked Brazil for its contribution to the WGTTT and 
appreciated the broader objective of the communication: to drive Members toward meaningful 
discussions that support preparedness and resiliency for long term, sustainable e conomic growth 
and trade.  She said that her delegation had long recognized that voluntary technology transfer on 
mutually agreed terms was critical for scaling up the global response to COVID -19 and other health 
emergencies; and that it welcomed a more hol istic conversation on the factors that enable voluntary 
technology transfer on mutually agreed terms across various sectors.  
The delegate of Canada  congratulated the Chairperson on his election and thanked his 
predecessor for her contributions to the work of the WGTTT. He said that his delegation wished to 
strongly condemn Russia's unjustifiable and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine which had shattered 
peace and security in Europe . He additionally said  that the continued attacks had caused widespread 
humanitarian consequences and resulted in senseless  deaths of innocent people; and, that it was  
not only an attack on Ukraine but also on international law , including the UN Charter as well as 
democracy, fr eedom and human rights. He said that  Russian leadership must be held to account and  WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  called on it to abandon the path of war and return to good faith diplomacy. He said that Canada 
stood  with the government of Ukraine and that it  believe d in the resilient p eople of Ukraine . The 
delegate of Canada also said that, in relation to the sanctions , as was mentioned by certain other 
Members, that Canada sanction ed at that time against Russia in relation to the topic of technology 
and prohibit ed any person in Canada  and any Canadian outside Canada, from exporting, selling, 
supplying or shipping any goods wherever situated or to provide any technology to Russia or to any 
person in Russia.  
The Chairperson  said that Brazil's communication and presentation, a nd also the comments 
made by delegations, provided food for thoughts. He went on to say that he could sense a consensus 
to continue the examination of the communication by Brazil and to place it on the agenda of future 
meetings of the WGTTT.  
The Chairperson  recalled that the Working Group had  worked very closely with other 
intergovernmental organizations which had work ed on technology generation, innovation, and its 
transfer. He went on to say t hat that work had primarily focused on addressing spe cific knowledge 
transfer and in promoting capacity -building program mes; and that h e believed that such 
collaboration was important in furthering the mandate of the  Working  Group. In that  context, he 
encouraged Members to closely follow the work in those organizations and expressed the intention 
of exploring possibl e synergies  to benefit  from suc h work in this area, by those international 
organizations ; and said that he would consult Members  of the WG TTT to that end.  In addition, while 
underscoring the importance of the knowledge -sharing exercise in the work of the WGTTT , he 
encouraged Members to consider making c ountry presentations to share  lessons learnt , highlighting 
through national example s, the role that trade might have  played or could play in facilitating 
technology transfer.   
The Chairperson additionally said that , to help improve understanding on the link between trade 
and technology transfer,  he intended to organize a meeting , or a works hop, dedicated to sharing  
national experiences  and collect ing information developed by other organizations working on 
technology transfer.  
The Working Group  took note  of the statements made.  
D. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  
The Chairperson  recalled that the Group had been discuss ing the room document entitled 
"Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing – A step to increase flows of 
technology to developing countries" tabled by India, Pakistan,  and the Philippines.   
The delegate of India said that work with interested Members had continued and that his 
delegation should be able to provide the WGTTT with updates  in the future . 
The delegate of Peru thanked the Indian delegation for endeavouring to update the room 
document and rejuvenating the deliberations of the WGTTT. He also said that recent academic 
literature suggested that regional trade agreements (RTAs) and technology had a positive 
correlation. He went on to say that the main findings of the study by the University of Buckingham, 
the Centre for European Governance and Economic Development, indicate that RTAs  that contain ed 
technology transfer provisions had generate d significantly higher volume s of trade than other RTAs 
that d id not include such p rovisions . 
The Chairperson  said that although advancing work of the WGTTT was a collective responsibility, 
major responsibility for propelling the work towards a meaningful progress lie d on Members, 
especially the proponents . He also said that he intended to hold informal consultations  to hear 
Members' views and ascertain how to discharge the mandate of the W orking Group.  
The Working Group took note  of the statements made.  WT/WGTTT/M/67  
 
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  E. OTHER BUSINESS  
No matter w as raised under "Other Business".  
The meeting was adjourned . 
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