RESTRICTED  
  
WT/WGTTT/M/52  
 
16 September  2016 
(16-4916) Page: 1/2 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology  
Fifty-Second Session    
 
 NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 14 JUNE  2016  
Chairperson: H.E. Mr.  Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia (Peru ) 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA ................................ ................................ ....................  1 
B. ANALYSI S OF THE RELATIONSHI P BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  1 
C. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMME NDATIONS ON STEPS TH AT MIGHT BE TAKEN 
WITHIN THE MANDATE O F THE WTO TO INCREAS E FLOWS OF 
TECHNOLOGY TO D EVELOPING COUNTRIES  ................................ ............................  2 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 2 
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGEN DA  
1. The agenda contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/WGTTT/5 of 2 June  2016 was adopted .  
B. ANALYSIS OF THE  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  TRADE AND TRANSFER O F 
TECHNOLOGY  
2. Under the agenda item on the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, 
Members heard a presentation from the delegation of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei)  on its national experience with innovation, technology 
generation and its transfer . 
3. Divided into two parts, t he first part of the presentation briefly highlighted Chinese Taipei's 
journey on the path to industrial and technologica l advancement over  the past 60 years - 
beginning with a labour -intensive light engineering base to a high-tech knowledge -based industry. 
Having realized that a high-tech industrial base was the backbone of an economy and that it 
played a key role in develo pment processes, Chinese Taipei  pursued an integrated and 
comprehensive technology policy to encourage institutional development, investment flows and 
establishing linkages between stakeholders. A milestone in this journey was the establishment of 
National  Science Council (NSC) that was, later, transformed into Ministry of Science a nd 
Technology (MOST) – which has , since then, served as the main governmental institution for 
supporting academic research, promotion of scie nce and technology development.  
4. The establishment of Industrial Technology Research Institute (IPRI) in 1973 was another 
major step in technology generation and innovation that played a vital role in transforming the 
economy from a labour -intensive to a high -tech i ndustry. As the economy m oved up the 
technology ladder, it gradually changed its role from the recipient of technology to net provider of 
technology. Chinese Taipei had set up a development fund in 1996, which, among others , was  
dedicated to boosting socio -economic development, en hancing human resource development and 
promoting economic relations with developing country partners.  With an annual budget of 
US$400 million , the fund  offered  a range of assistance to developing country partners  in a variety 
of areas such as environmental  protection, public health, agriculture, education and informatio n 
and communication technology.  
5. The second part of the presentation focused on a successful case study on technical 
cooperation and technology transfer to St. Lucia in the field of agricul ture. The presentation WT/WGTTT/M/52  
 
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  highlighted how Chinese Taipei had helped St . Lucia in building indigenous capacity to control 
Black Sigatoka Disease (Mycosphaerella fijiensis ) that had played havoc with the banana 
production in 2010. For St. Lucia , banana producti on was a major economic activity as it was the 
main source of foreign exchange earnings and  employed  around 20 % of the work force. In 2001 , 
banana exports accounted for 46.8 % of the total value of the country's exports. It was  evident 
that any ch ange in th e volume of banana  export, or in th e market price, directly affected  the 
farmers and the wages of the workers in St. Lucia.  
6. The assistance to St. Lucia focused on controlling the Black Sigatoka Disease in banana 
production and primarily targeted three a reas: (i) system establishment; (ii) procedure 
improvements;  and (iii) capacity building. The focus under the assistance programme was on : 
(i) establishment of a phytopathology analysis facility, including a pathology laboratory; 
(ii) workshops and trainin g to farmers by the Banana Research Institute in Chinese Taipei  to 
improve data  collection, field mapping, data recording so as to enhance accuracy and speed of 
disease analysis ; (iii) introduction of resistant plantain varieties; (iv) establishment of a w eather 
station and a soil analysis laboratory to improve the accuracy of disease development forecasting ; 
and (v)  introduction of the Geographic Information System (GIS).  
7. This had resulted in greater efficiency and accuracy in the collection of field di sease data, a 
reduction in the time taken for banana farmers to acquire data, and enhanced effectiveness of 
disease prevention efforts. In terms of farming efficiency, these measures had resulted in 
significantly reducing the annual frequency of chemical s prayings , thus lowering management 
costs, which contributed to enhancing not only the effectiveness of disease prevention but also 
St. Lucia's overall competitiveness in banana production.  
 
8. In the ensuing discussion , Members found the presentation by C hinese Taipei informative 
and useful in enhancing a better understanding of the key role of various actors and factors in 
innovation and technology generation. In that context, Members highlighted the crucial role of 
supportive governmental policies, avail ability of finance, investment flows, research and 
development, educational institutes, human resource and infrastructure development. Some 
Members felt that Chinese Taipei 's experience with technology generation and its transfer was a 
good model for other s, in particular the technology holder countries, to emulate and help 
developing countries and LDCs to build technological capacity. Interest was also expressed in 
hearing more success stories, especially in relevance to technology transfer under Article 6 6.2 of 
the TRIPS Agreement. The delegation of St. Lucia, in appreciating the positive contribution made 
by technical assistance provided by Chinese Taipei , stated that its exports of banana s had reached 
US$6.7 million in 2014 . 
C. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMME NDATIONS ON STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN 
THE MANDATE OF THE W TO TO INCREASE FLOWS  OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEV ELOPING 
COUNTRIES  
9. Under the agenda item on possible recommendations that the Working Group could make in 
the future, the proponents informed the Working Gro up that they continued to work on their 
formal proposal on the establishment of a dedicated WTO webpage on technology transfer , and 
that they hoped to table it by the next meeting of the Working Group . 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
10. No matter w as raised under "O ther Business ". 
11. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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