RESTRICTED  
  
WT/WGTTT/W/36  
 
15 November 2023 
(23-7684) Page: 1/3 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology    
 
  
DRAFT  
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 furthe r report 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 Chairperson 
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  RELATION SHIP 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 d eliberations at the previous session ( 68th session ) had been rich and useful .  
They included  contributions by external speakers, including from other international organizations 
and civil society, 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 chall enges 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 acknowledged the continued relevance of the Working 
Group's mandate and recog nized 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 vi ews expressed during the consultations, the Chairperson invited the Working 
Group to consider adopting a work programme to structure future work. That work programme could 
 
1 Paragraph 37 of document WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 .  WT/WGTTT/W/36  
 
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  include prioritized areas for technology transfer, mechanisms for cooperation, and p roposals for 
outcomes, thereby facilitating deliberations in future meetings. Furthermore, it would enable the 
Working Group to plan workshops and invite other stakeholders, such as business and other 
international organizations, to share their experiences  and best practices in technology transfer.  
2.4.  The 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 INC REASE 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 I nformation 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 interested Members on revising their 
submission and that they intende d 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 economies to better integrate into the regional 
and global value chai ns 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 ten sions.  
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 transfer 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/888 ), 
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 applicat ions 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 technology transfer , including through sharing of domestic experie nces, 
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 communication , in particular, relative to the participation of exter nal 
stakeholders to inform the Working Group's future deliberations, increasing the cooperation with WT/WGTTT/W/36  
 
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  other committees, including through the organization of joint sessions, and structuring and planning 
activities in a work programme, which would help organ ize 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 African 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 readines s 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 Working 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 consultations . 
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 20 23 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, encou rage 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 transfer 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 licensing and 
technology transfer .  
3.14.   The Chair person  noted M embers' convergence on experience sharing sessions and analysing 
lessons learned from technology transferred through voluntary licensing. She also noted that a 
comprehensive examination of voluntary licensing should look at its limitations and also conside r 
other models.  
4  FUTURE WORK  
4.1.  Members have continued 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 covered 
a number of issues and has helped to enhance Members' understanding of the nexus between trade 
and transfer of technology . The work has also underlined the need to discuss and adopt a work 
programme  for structuring the work with a view to exploring outcome s at future Ministerial Sessions . 
The Working Group will continue to look at these issues in the coming year.  
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