RESTRICTED  
  
WT/WGTTT/W/24  
 
7 November 2014  
(14-6523)  Page: 1/3  
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology    
 
DRAFT 
 
REPORT (2014) OF THE WORKING GROUP ON TRADE AND TRANSFER OF  
TECHNOLOGY TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL 
 
 
1  INTRODUCTION 
1.1.  At the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001, Ministers agreed 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, since then, has continued to work within this mandate and has 
provided annual reports to the General Council on the work undertaken by it.  
1.2.  Since the October 2013 Report of the Workin g Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology to 
the General Council, the Working Group has held three Sessions, the reports of which are contained in documents WT/WGTTT/M/45, WT/WGTTT/M/46, and WT/WGTTT/M/47
2 respectively.  
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, the details of which are given below. In addition, the Work ing Group organized a Workshop on Technology 
Transfer on 16 June 2014 in which a cross section of experts from public/private sectors, IGOs and 
the academia shed light on the complex nexu s between trade and transfer of technology. 
1.3.  At the April 2014 meeting, the Working Group formally elected Ambassador 
Abdolazeez S. Al-Otaibi of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as its Chairperson. 
2  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRAD E AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY 
2.1.  During the year 2014, Members continued to explore the relationship between trade and 
transfer of technology, on the basis of the Se cretariat's presentation, on the findings of a 
November 2012 Workshop on "Environmental Technology Dissemination; Challenges and Opportunities related to Environmental Technology Dissemination". The deliberations underscored the fact that these information-sharing exercises were crucial in enhancing Members' 
understanding of the complex technology transfer process and its nexus with trade. 
2.2.  In addition, at the 43
rd Session of the Working Group held on 4 July 2013, Members had 
agreed to hold a Workshop on Trade and Tran sfer of Technology at the WTO, based on a 
communication from Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru (WT/WGTTT/W/19/Rev.2). 
Accordingly, the workshop was held on Mo nday, 16 June 2014, back-to-back with the 46th Session 
of the Working Group. Primarily, it was structur ed around two sessions, with each having three 
further sub-sessions involving a moderator and three/four officials from WTO Members, Observer 
countries, experts from intergovernmental organi zations and representatives from the academia. 
Most sessions were marked by an active discuss ion following the presentations. Among the clear 
themes that emerged from the debate, there wa s broad agreement that technology transfer 
remains a key determinant of increased labour productivity, and thus of economic growth and 
                                               
1 Paragraph 37 of WT/MIN/(01)/DEC/1. 
2 To be issued. WT/WGTTT/W/24 
 
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  development. Trade was seen as an important factor  in the technology transfer process, both as a 
direct vehicle for transfer of technology in th e shape of imports of machinery, equipment, and 
services, and less directly, through FDI, licensing, NEMs of production, GVCs, and temporary labour movement, including through GATS Mode 4. Speakers expressed the view that GVCs, in 
many industries and across countries, can foster innovation, learning and technological upgrading 
in developing country firms. They emphasized th e importance of services and trade facilitation 
measures to bolstering GVC-oriented investment  and consequently, technology transfer. While 
trade agreements were seen as potentially encour aging technology transfer, not least by reducing 
policy uncertainty, panellists stressed that trade agreements were only one of several factors affecting technology transfer. Repeated emphasis was laid on the importance of education and the availability of skilled human resources and appropriate institutional and policy environments in the 
host country, for both the transfer and absorpti on/adaptation of technology. Among others, the 
participants highlighted the role of Research & Development institutions and knowledge centres in fostering technology and innovation. They stressed the importance of linking education and 
research institutions to Intellectual Property offices and other market actors to translate research 
into commercially significant innovation as well as to encourage R&D-oriented investment in their own countries. 
2.3.  Despite the generally positive light in wh ich trade agreements were viewed, some questions 
were raised about the TRIPS Agreement, in light of countries' heterogeneous levels of development, and/or potential tensions with the pursuit of collective objectives such as environmental protection. That said, it was note d that even though developed countries own the 
bulk of technology, countries can reach a high level of prosperity as either net exporters or 
importers of technology – even the EU as a whole is a net payer of IP royalties. What remains important is that a country be able to acquire the technology it needs and apply it appropriately. 
One speaker noted that the TRIMS Agreement ruled out several performance requirements that 
developed and developing countries had used in the past to induce technology transfer – he also raised the possibility of negotiating a new agreem ent on trade and transfer of technology. Some 
contrasting views were heard during the workshop, notably on whether requirements for 
technology transfer, say for emissions-saving technologies, could reduce the total sum of innovation globally by diminishing Schumpeterian rewards for taking on the risks inherent to attempting to invent something. Nevertheless,  speakers seemed to broadly agree on the 
desirability of investment promotion and skills-enhancement programmes that can create a 
supportive environment for technology transfer. 
2.4.  Speakers also noted that the poorest countries seem to not have benefitted from technology 
transfer, and said that technology transfer to LD Cs could be improved by providing better funding 
opportunities to investment in technology adaptation and by fostering linkages between developed and developing country research institutions. Additional points were made about how enabling 
developing country firms to use the internet to drive their participation in trade could itself be seen 
as a form of technology transfer. Moreover, it was noted that businesses that operate online take part in trade in higher numbers, and have a higher survival rate, than those that do not. The successes of some countries in using ICT to boost economic growth and development can and 
indeed have been emulated in other developing co untries. A call was also made for the mapping of 
potential business clusters in developing countries, so as to help investment and technology transfer activities yield the highest dividends.  
2.5.  Overall, the workshop provided a useful op portunity to listen to some high-quality views and 
thoughts from the experts/academics from across  the globe on various elements of innovation, 
technology and its transfer debate. Members expr essed the hope that the deliberations in the 
workshop would facilitate a better understanding of the complex relationship between trade and 
transfer of technology and consequently contribu te to fulfilment of the mandate of the Working 
Group.  
2.6.  The workshop was followed, the next day, by the 46
th Session of the Working Group. This 
enabled Members to further reflect and express themselves on the emerging themes in the 
Workshop. They were unanimous in expressing apprec iation on the holding of a timely and fruitful 
workshop that provided them with an opportunity to hear experts' thoughts on the multifaceted 
and complex nexus between trade and technology tran sfer, The high quality of presentations, their 
substantive coverage of related issues and the ri ch interactive discussions provided Members with 
deeper insight into various underlying issues, factors and actors that surround the complexity of 
the debate that is taken up in this Group. It was viewed that the workshop did help them explore WT/WGTTT/W/24 
 
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  further how various factors and actors played a crucial role in innovation, technology generation, 
its transfer, assimilation and absorption as we ll as its adaptation. Some Members expressed the 
view that on the basis of what they heard fr om the academics/experts in the workshop, the 
Working Group could: (a) explore how liberalization in the services sector could facilitate 
technology and knowledge transfer; and (b) discuss  ways on how the Working Group could benefit 
from synergizing its work with other WTO bodies. In this context, a proposal tabled by Ecuador in the TRIPS Council that pertained to IPRs and their impact on green technologies and climate 
change was particularly mentioned. They also hoped that the deliberations in the workshop would 
pave the way for some meaningful progress of the work and meaningfully contribute to fulfilment of the mandate of the Working Group.   
3  ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON TH E STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN 
THE MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES 
3.1.  During the year 2014, Members continued thei r discussion of an earlier submission entitled 
"Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing – Steps to Increase Flows 
of Technology to Developing Countries". The prop onents also indicated that they were working 
with other stakeholders at home and consulting with other countries on how aspects related to the 
enabling environment for technology transfer could be  worked into the proposal. They also felt that 
the workshop on technology transfer had provided them with an opportunity to have a fresh look 
at all underlying issues. This would help them develop a revised formal submission which they hoped to table shortly in the Working Group, and hoped to work with other Members with a view 
to consolidating the submission. 
4  FUTURE WORK 4.1.  Pursuant to the mandate contained in paragraph 37 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and 
subsequent affirmation, in paragraph 43, by Mi nisters in the Hong Kong Declaration, Members 
continued with the examination of the relationship  between trade and transfer of technology and 
consideration of any possible recommendations on steps that might be taken within the mandate 
of the WTO to increase flows of technology to de veloping countries. The work undertaken, thus far, 
has contributed to clarifying a number of complex issues and has enhanced Members' understanding of the relationship between trade and transfer of technology. The Working Group 
will continue to examine these issues in the co ntext of the nexus between trade and transfer of 
technology and its relevance to the development dimension of the DDA.   
 
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