WT/WGTTT/20  
 
22 Novem ber 2018  
(18-7338) Page: 1/4 
   
 
REPORT (2018 ) OF THE WORKING GRO UP ON TRADE AND  TRANSFER  
OF TECHNOLOGY TO THE GE NERAL COUNCIL  
 
1. INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Ministers agreed, a t 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 increas e flows of tec hnology to developing 
countries" .1 Since then, the Working Group has reported on its work a t each WTO Ministerial 
Meeting. The last such report was made at the Nairobi Ministerial Conference in 2015. 
Subsequently, the Ministers had  time and a gain reaffirmed their  commitment to advance the work 
of the Working Group and instructed the General Council  to further report to the Ministerial 
Sessions . 
 
1.2.  The Working Group has held three sessions during 2018. The reports of the meetings are 
contained in  documents WT/WGTTT/M/57, WT/WGTTT/M/58 and WT/WGTTT/M/59 .2 At these 
meetings, 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.  
2. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
2.1.  During the year 2018 , work on the  analysis of the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology  procee ded on the basis of presentations made by the World Intellectual Property  
Organization  (WIPO ), the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) and the World Bank , wherein 
they shared their work in the area of trade and transfer of technology. The discussion hi ghlighted  
that technology and technical know -how were essential for improving productivity, promoting 
growth and attaining the development aspirations of less developed Members. Te chnology transfer 
can be  an important tool to narrow the technological gap between developed and developing 
countries and for integrating developing countries into t he multilateral trading s ystem.  
 
2.2.  The d iscussion also underlined the importance of the Sustainable De velopment  Goals, 
especially SDG  17 in guiding the work of the Group. Emphasis was laid on the need for enhancing 
North -South, South -South , triangular regional and international cooperation on access to science, 
technology,  innovation and knowledge sharing on mutual ly agreed terms, including through 
improved coordination among existing mechanisms, and through a global technology facilitation 
mechanism . 
 
2.3.  The presentation  by WIPO on "Harnessing Public Resear ch for Innovation and 
Knowledge/ Technology Transfer – The Role of Intellectual Property" focused, among others, on 
(i) the evolving role of universities and public research organizations (PROs)  in national innovation 
systems; (ii) positive impact of academic research on innovation systems and competitiveness of  
businesses; and (iii) on how to reap best returns on investment made in public research and to 
“bridge the gap” between academy and industry for the benefit of the society.  
 
2.4.  Based on the World Intellectual Property ( IP) Report 2011, WIPO IP Indicators Report 2017, 
WIPO PCT Report 2017, and WIPO Statistics Database, the presentation focused, among others,  
                                                
1 Paragraph 37 of document WT/MIN (01)/DEC/1.  
2 To be issued.  
 WT/WGTTT/20  
 
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  on: (i) the evolving role of universities and public research organizations (PROs) in national 
innova tion systems; (ii ) positive impact of academic research on these systems, competitiveness 
of businesses and on how to reap best returns on investment made in public research; and (iii) to 
“bridge the gap” between academy and industry for the benefit of the society. It foun d that  
IP-based technology transfer was meant to lead to better use of research results, different forms 
of academic entrepreneurship and , therefore, improved economic and so cial development. Various 
policies  and other factors at a country and institutional level needed to coincide to ensure that laws 
spurring university and PRO patenting bear fruit through, inter alia , technology transfer t owards 
businesses and markets.  
 
2.5.  In addition the presentation tou ched upon multiple factors of knowledge transfer and 
highlighted that (a) public -private knowledge transfer occurred through a large number of formal 
and informal channels, and that IP issues were only o ne part of the bigger landscape;  (b) the 
payoffs of a cademic research were maximized when the private sector used and built on thos e 
multiple channels of transfer;  (c) fostering two -way exchange, which built on the mutual capacities 
of the public and private research sectors, was a challenge for high -income countries, and was 
particularly so for less developed economies with fewer links among PROs, univ ersities and the 
private sector;  (d) the significant majority of paten t applications and other IP fil ings came from 
businesses ; (e) universities and public ly-funded research institutions are the main generators of IP 
in LDCs, developing countri es, and countries in tran sition;  (f) one of the main cha llenges at the 
policy level was , how to obtain the best return on investment made in the public research and how 
to “bridge the gap” between academy and industry  for the benefit of the society;  and (g) academic 
knowledge/tech nology transfer towards business innovation could be stimulated through 
appropriate actions taken on the policy and implementation level by the governments and 
management of academic institutions.  
 
2.6.  In sharing the organization's perspective on innovation in Agriculture, the presentation by 
FAO shed light on its work through select ive examples and case studies. It underscored strategic 
focus of the organization's work on : (a) helping to eliminate hunge r, food insecurity and 
malnutrition;  (b) making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more  productive and sustainable ; 
(c) reducing rural poverty ; (d) enabling inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems ; and 
(e) increasing the resilience of liveli hoods to threats and crises. The FAO's target was to work 
towards achieving food security for all - Food for All - Sustainable Development Goal 2 - and 
making sure that people had regular access to enough high -quality food to lead active, healthy 
lives. The work of the organization, spread in over 130 countries worldwide,  revolved around all 
aspects of production cycle, inc reased productivity and ensured  availability of nutritious food . 
 
2.7.  The salient points of the FAO's work in this area included:  (a) Agriculture Innovation 
System  (AIS) - a network of actors (individuals, organizations and enterprises), together with 
supporting institutions and policies in the agricultural and related sectors that brought existing or 
new products, processes, and forms o f organization into social and economic use. The AIS was 
comprised of four main components:  (i) research and education;  (ii) business and e nterprises;  
(iii) bridging institutions;  and (iv) the enabling environment . (b) eLocust3 (ways in which  the 
latest advances of digital IT were used to successfully arrest and decline the duration, intensity 
and frequency of devastating Desert Lo cus plagues  in Africa and Asia).  (c) Use of blockchain 
technology (citing Ethiopia's example  on how blockchain technology had helped  to increase 
transparency and to distribute more value and profit across production chain, including to the 
small -scale coffee producers in Ethiopia) . (d) Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) – an approach to 
guide actions t owards reorienting agriculture system to the effects of climate change , so as to 
achieve sustainable  increasing productivity and incomes, adapting and building resilience to 
climate change and reducing/re moving greenhouse gas emissions.  (e) Tropical Agricu lture 
Platform (TAP) – in order to bring capacity development up to speed with the challenges facing 
agriculture in the 21 st century, the partners of TAP had adopted a new approach that moves away 
from the idea, successfully adopted during  the Green Revolution, that saw knowledge being passed 
on to farmers thro ugh the transfer of technology. Instead,  TAP had embraced the Agricultural 
Innovation Systems (AIS)  perspective, which recognized that agricultural innovation was a process 
involving many differen t actors and factors which  could only take off , if it met the  demands of its 
principal users; and  (f) Capacity Development for Agriculture Innovation Systems (CDAIS) - 
Launched in 2015 and funded by the European Union , the overall objective of  CDAIS was to make 
Agricultural Innovation S ystems more efficient and sustainable in meeting the demands of 
farmers, agri -business and consumers , and thereby  helping  improve food security. CDAIS operates 
in eight pilot countries, in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The capacity development interventions WT/WGTTT/20  
 
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  in th ose eight countries were demand -driven and integrated development of individual 
competencies and organizational capacities with policy dialogues. The work enabled policies that 
promoted improved capacity for Agricultural Innovation S ystems , for joint innovation and the 
organizational culture, practices and procedures of key stakeholder organizations.  
 
2.8.  The Worl d Bank 's presentation entitled "Trade and Investment in the Age of Disruptive 
Technologies" , underscored how the exponential advancements in the technological field were 
impacting and shaping the development model. In doing so, it pointed towards a number of 
challenge s that needed to be addressed. These challenges included, among others, economic 
growth, forced displacement, inequality, changing demographics, climate change, urbanization, 
pandemics, polarization of political and social institutions, fragility, conflict and violence. These 
issues wer e further influenced by emerging/evolving trends in new means of production, sharing, 
connectivity and disruption, digitalization and  its ability to enable access, development of human 
capital, as well as capacity to adapt and thrive in this d igital age. A ll this impacted  how 
practitioners would design a new development model. New client demands for advice and 
implementation know -how related to these trends were challenging  the World Bank's traditional 
value proposition, understanding of technology trends a nd conventional  ways of approaching. The 
World  Bank's work wa s centered around three "Bs" – Build, Boost and Broker . The Bank served as 
a trusted advisor and partner in supporting the implementation of new sustai nable pathways to 
development , through  makin g the best of the opportunities that exponential technology trends 
provided. To that end, the Bank engaged with governments and people, coordinated with 
development partners and mobilized the private sector to (a) build and develop foundational 
building bl ocks for sustainable technology -led economies, (b) boost and expand the capacity of 
governments and institutions to thrive in a resilient economy in the face of disruption, and 
(c) broker and harness disruptive technologies, data and expertise to address d evelopme nt 
challenges and manage risks.  
 
2.9.  Members found the WIPO, FAO and the World Bank 's presentations useful, ric h, 
thought -provoking and relevant to the work of the Working Group, and engaged in preliminary 
discus sion on some of their elements.  
3. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMME NDATIONS ON THE STEP S THAT MIGHT BE TAKE N 
WITHIN THE MANDATE O F THE WTO TO INCREAS E FLOWS OF TECHNOLOG Y TO 
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
3.1.  During 2018 , Members continued  to discuss a submission  made earlier  by India, Pakistan and 
the Philip pines entitled , "Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing  – 
A Step to Increase Flows of Technology to Developing Countries ". The proponents informed  the 
Group  that they were still in the process of revising their submission and  that they intended to 
table it in the near future.  
 
3.2.  Under this a genda item, the African Group s tated one of the possible recommendations that 
the Working Group could make related to the establishment of a dedicated WTO webpage on 
technology transfer. The proposed webpage could serve as a one -stop-shop on technology -related 
issues and could, among others, include information on the following: (i) description of all 
technology and its transfer -related provisions in the WTO Agreements; (ii) repo rts on the nature of 
incentives provided by the governments to firms under Article  66.2 of the Agreement on TRIPS;  
and (ii i) links to IP information data bases, technology transfer offices, and technology and 
innovation research institutions across the glob e. 
 
3.3.  Furthermore, in recalling the mandate of the Working Group in paragraph 37 of the Doha 
Declaration and paragraph 43 of the Hong Kong  Declaration , the African Group  alluded to the work 
programme adopted by Members in July 2003 and asked Members to  revisit and restructure it by, 
among others, adding strict time lines to complete its work. Some of the elements proposed for the 
restructuring  of the work programme included:  (a) carrying out assessment s of needs of 
developing countries for transfer of te chnology ; (b) identifying the problems and constraints faced 
by developing countries in gaining access to the needed technology available in developed 
countries , including pricing policies ; (c) examining all the WTO Agreements to identify any 
constraints t hat certain provisions in these Agreements may be creating against transfer of 
technology to developing countries ; (d) assessing the implementation by developed countries of all 
WTO provisions related to transfer of technology to developing countries , with a view to identifying 
the needs for appropriate changes/strengthening of these provisions ; (e) studying the design of WT/WGTTT/20  
 
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  instruments and incentives, including tax incentives, that developed countries could grant to 
enterprises and institutions in their own t erritories in order to disseminate and transfer technology 
to developing countries ; and  (f) examining channels , including foreign direct investment for 
transfer of technology, and impact of TRIPS on competition p olicy and balance of payments. In 
addition, the Secretariat was also requested to compile and update current notes to reflect 
information on issues that had been identified as elements of the work programme.  
 
3.4.  The European Union requested the African Group to make a written submission  in this 
regard.  
4. FUTURE WORK  
4.1.  Members have continued their examin ation of  the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology and have also considered  possible recommendati ons on steps that might be made  
within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technolo gy to developing countries. The 
ongoing work  has covered a number of issues and has  helped to enhance Members' understanding 
of the complex nexus between trade and t ransfer of technology. T he Work ing Group  will continue  
to examine these issues in the coming year . 
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