WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/11 
12 November 2009 
 
 (09-5644) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2009) OF THE WORKING GR OUP ON TRADE AND TRANSFER OF  
TECHNOLOGY TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. At the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001 Minister agreed to "an 
examination, in a Working Group under the auspi ces 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 increa se flows of technology to developing countries”.
1  
Paragraph 43 of the Hong Kong Mi nisterial Declaration of 18 December 2005 reaffirmed the 
Ministers' commitment to advance the work of th e Working Group and instructed the General Council 
"to report further to our next Session”.   
2. Since the November 2005 Report of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of 
Technology to the General Council, the Working Group has held 15 Sessions during the period 2006 
to 2009.  The reports of the meetings are cont ained in documents WT/WGTTT/M/15-29.  As in the 
previous years, at these meetings, Members continue d 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 incr eases flows of technology to developing countries. 
II. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY 
3. During the year 2006, Members continued their analysis of the relationship between trade and 
transfer of technology on the basis of earlier submissions and case studies presented by UNCTAD and 
UNIDO.  The UNCTAD case study on " Salmon Industry in Chile ” highlighted that appropriate home 
and host-country measures in fac ilitating technology transfer could pl ay a crucial role in enhancing 
investment and technology acquisition.  In addition,  the study brought to focus the efforts by national 
and international partners in transfer, adaptation, development, and diffusion of technologies that had 
led to distinct gains in the salmon sector.  The st udy also underscored the importance of cooperation 
between public institutions, academia and the private sector.  
4. In another presentation based on the World Investment Report 2005  (WIR), UNCTAD briefed 
the Working Group on recent trends in international transfer of technology and their implications.  
The WIR found that the benefits of increased technolog y transfer were concentrated in a few countries 
and limited to a few industries.  Sectors such as health, agriculture and energy as well as basic 
infrastructure that were crucial to national devel opment had not benefited.  Measures to reduce the 
cost of trade in intellectual property and capital good s as well as to help developing countries build a 
sound domestic technological base could facilita te international flows of technology. 
5. The UNIDO study on " Technology Transfer & Trade: The Toy Industry in India”  
underscored the importance of technology and innovation for achieving economies of scale and creating competitiveness;  development of skills an d local capacity;  conformance to international 
                                                     
 
1 Paragraph 37 of WT/MIN/(01)/DEC/1.   WT/WGTTT/11 
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  standards through technology upgrading;  innovative d esigns;  and quality and the application of IT  
for enhanced competitiveness in the deve lopment of the small-scale industry. 
6. During 2007, the work on the relationship between  trade and transfer of technology continued 
largely on the basis of a presentation made by UNCTAD and a country presentation made by the 
Philippines. 
7. UNCTAD briefed Members on its ongoing work on " Trends in Cross-Border Flows of 
Technology " which identified six indicators for asses sing cross-border technology flows. These 
included:  (i) payment of royalties and licensing fees by the users to technology providers;  (ii) trade in capital goods;  (iii) trade in business and professional services;  (iv) number of patents filed;  (v) the 
flow and expenditure of transnati onal corporations in research and de velopment (R&D);  and (vi) the 
growth of industrial alliances.  The presentation de monstrated the fact that technology ownership and 
its development was mostly concentrated in deve loped countries.  A limited number of developing 
countries with larger markets, and with some production and technological capacity already in place, had to an extent, benefited from technology flows. 
8. The country presentation by the Philippines stressed  that the successful transfer of technology 
played an important role in stimulating the formation and growth of  advanced technology 
entrepreneurial start-ups.  It also contributed to  increased revenues of existing firms and made a 
positive contribution to a country's economic devel opment.  In addition, improved allocation of 
resources among economic sectors and industries, as well as the generation and adaptation of 
technology had resulted in better organization of firms which had led to greater competitiveness, 
growth and productivity across the economy.  In order to promote technology transfer, the 
Government had pursued policies that encouraged  expansion of public-p rivate relationship and 
cross-country network of intermediaries, compri sing provincial research and innovation organizations, 
university research centers and the private sector.  Some of the policy challenges that the Philippines 
had faced in its efforts to create a sound knowledge  and technological base included:  technological 
contracts containing provisions relating to exclusiv e rights for the supply of machinery;  technology 
contracts demanding guarantees against changes in taxes,  tariffs, currency exchange rates, remittances 
and royalties;  and contracts containing provisions fo r the excessive use of foreign technicians, limited 
use of competing technologies as well as the high cost of technology transfer. 
9. The ensuing discussion highlighted the importance of public policy in encouraging 
public-private partnership, the linkage of forei gn investment with small and medium enterprises 
(SMEs) and the interface between technology and huma n resources.  The role of Aid for Trade in the 
context of capacity building and the development of human capital was also underscored.  Members 
also agreed that sharing of national experiences in technology transfer had value in broadening the 
scope of their deliberations and helped clarify some of the complex issues they were grappling with in 
the Working Group.  Such knowledge–sharing exerci ses could facilitate a better understanding of the 
complex nexus between trade and transfer of technology and hence help make progress in the 
Working Group. 
10. In 2008, work continued on the basis of count ry presentation by the Philippines in 2007 and a 
World Bank study made available to the Working Group on 10 March 2008. 
11. In continuing their deliberations on the count ry presentation by the Philippines, a number of 
Members expressed the view that international agreem ents in the area of technology transfer had an 
important role to play in technology transfer process.  In that context, among others, a number of 
provisions in the WTO Agreements such as Articles 7, 8, 62 and 66 of the TRIPS Agreement were 
cited. The role of public policy, home and host- country measures, public-private partnership and 
networking among local and foreign actors and the li nkage between foreign investment and SMEs in 
technology transfer was highlighted.  WT/WGTTT/11 
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  12. Another useful contribution in the Working Group, that facilitated further work on the 
analysis of the relationship between trade and transf er of technology, was a study by the World Bank, 
entitled " Global Economic Prospects: Technology  Diffusion in the Developing World ".  While 
underscoring the critical link that technology could provide in contributing to sustainable economic 
growth and in helping to reduce poverty, the study al so took an in-depth look at recent trends in 
technological advancements and how  various factors influenced the diffusion of technology in 
developing countries.  In highlighting the central  link between technology and innovation, the study 
went on to identify four dimensions of absorptive capacity that could be crucial in reaping optimum 
benefits from opportunities that the global market place offered.  These included: appropriate 
macro-economic environment;  financial structure and intermediation;  regulatory environment and 
governance;  and basic/advanced technological literacy and education.  The basic message from the 
study was that there was a significant improvement in the macro and the finance sector, but a somewhat slower progress had been registered in th e regulatory field and literacy in the developing 
countries that, consequently, hampered significant im provements in technological absorptive capacity.  
13. During 2009 the Working Group’s work on the re lationship between trade and transfer of 
technology was mainly based on the World Bank study namely " Global Economic Prospects: 
Technology Diffusion in the Developing World " that was presented to the Working Group in the 
previous year and another useful presentation by  the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).   
14. Continuing their deliberations on the World Bank study, Members had a shared understanding 
that in the technology-transfer process a number of factors and the intricate nexus amongst them 
played an important role, and that the study cont ributed to an enhanced understanding of some of 
those complex issues.  The discussion highlighted  the importance of experience sharing in the 
technology transfer process, particularly by countries that had undergone rapid technological development in the last few decades.  In this cont ext, the role of technology as a critical element and 
as a catalyst in the development process of a number  of countries in Asia, which had climbed a steep 
industrialization curve in a very short span of time,  was underscored.  Members were of the view that 
useful lessons could be learnt from sharing su ch experiences and allowing developing countries to 
make more informed choices.  One Member pointed  to the usefulness of linking the discussions in the 
Working Group to the work being undertaken in the TRIPS Council on provisions relating to strengthening technological base in devel oping and least-developed countries.   
15. In addition, the representative of UNCTAD in formed Members that his organization was 
finalizing a study on the role of technology and i nnovation in agricultural development in developing 
countries with a particular focus on small-scale farmers in Africa.  The topics in the study included:  
food security;  agriculture productivity;  the role of technology and innovation in agriculture;  transfer 
of technology;  the role of public policy;  infrastruct ure;  linkages to markets and research institutions;  
and international cooperation including South-So uth cooperation and international trade and 
investment.  He stated that his organization woul d like to share the findings of the study with the 
Working Group at one of its future meetings.  Me mbers hoped that the study would help advance the 
work of the Working Group. 
16. The presentation on "The Linkage between Techno logy Transfer and Productivity Gains in 
Agriculture" by FAO, among others, highlighted the effect that technology advancement in the period 1965-2000 had had on increasing crop yields of a number of selected crops in developing countries, including wheat, maize, rice (paddy), sorghum and c assava.  The increase was attributed to the Green 
Revolution helped to feed around 6.4 billion peopl e, increased per capita food availability by over 
18 per cent as well as improved the livelihoods of sever al million farmers.  The Green Revolution had 
also helped increase crop yields on fixed-land areas.  In spite of that, one out of every six people in 
the world went hungry every day, a situation which had worsened as a result of the food crisis and 
now the economic crisis. Around 1.2 billion people remained in absolute poverty and vast areas of 
land still remained uncultivated.  The presentation also  pointed out the fact that not all countries had WT/WGTTT/11 
Page 4  
 
  benefited from the Green Revolutio n and, in many instances, the natural resource base had been 
negatively affected.   
17. The presentation also demonstrated that dur ing 1965-2000, food prod uction, both at the 
global level and developing country  level, had increased faster than the increase in the population. 
However, future global food demand was expected to  increase by 70 per cent in 2050 as a result of an 
expected population growth of 38 per cent (9.1 b illion) in 2050.  The presen tation showed that the 
growth in food demand could only, to a limited ex tent, be met by extending cultivation to currently 
fallow land and enhancing cropping intensity.  The underlying message of the presentation was that 
80 per cent of future increased food demand would have to be met by improving yields through 
substantially improved technology, including through, among others, improving research systems, 
modernizing technical advisory services, building research-extension-farmers linkages and exploiting 
the potential of ICTs.  A number of ways of ach ieving that could include leveraging existing assets 
and the knowledge base, ge nerating knowledge in order to impr ove productivity and sustainability 
including enhancing yield ceilings for better ma nagement of natural resources, minimizing 
post-harvest losses, diversifying and adding va lue to agricultural products, improving access to 
markets and increasing investments in agricultural R&D.  
18. The presentation also pointed out that a UN agency, ECOSOC, had found that developed 
countries currently contributed about 5 per cent of  their GDP to agricultural development while 
developing countries contributed much less.  It ha d estimated that, in order to meet the Millennium 
Development Goals (MDG's), developing countries w ould have to contribute at least 1 per cent of 
their agricultural GDP to agricultu ral development.  In addition, investments varied widely among 
developing countries and among and within regions.  Fo r example, two-thirds of the total investments 
made in agricultural R&D in Sub-Saharan Africa were made by South Africa alone.  Capacity 
building and strengthening institutions were also  among the elements identified as contributing to 
increasing agricultural productivity. 
19. In the discussion following the FAO pre sentation, Members found that the FAO's 
contribution was useful in highlighting the link be tween technology transfer and productivity gains in 
agriculture besides demonstrating the importance th at countries attached to the issue of technology 
and R&D for sectors such as agriculture.  India drew attention to the effect that the Green Revolution 
had had in helping alleviate hunger in India and help ing it become a world leader in several crops.  
The US and EC provided examples of some of the wo rk they were doing to help developing countries 
address challenges such as food security, rural devel opment and climate change.  In that context, 
some of the issues that were mentioned included:   increasing agricultural productivity (through the 
provision of seeds and fertilizer);  stimulating post- harvest,  private-sector growth;  supporting the 
role of women and families in agriculture;  mainta ining the natural resource base in the context of 
climate change; expanding knowledge and training ;  increasing trade flows;  and supporting good 
governance and policy reforms.  WT/WGTTT/11 
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  III. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE STEPS THAT MIGHT BE 
TAKEN WITHIN THE MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
20. During 2006, Members continued their consid eration of possible recommendations on steps 
that might be taken within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing 
countries on the basis of a submission tabled  by India, Pakistan and the Philippines.
2  In addition to 
suggesting recommendations that the Working Gro up could make to increase technology flows to 
developing countries, the submission highlighted the crucial role of technology and technical 
know-how for improving productivity, promoting expor t growth and attainin g developmental goals. 
Additionally, the same proponents introduced a room document elaborating upon some of the 
recommendations contained in their earlier submission and provided further clarifications to some of 
the questions raised by some other Members with regard to the objective, intent and substance of 
some of the suggested recommendations.  
21. Members also considered a communication from Cuba3 which analyzed some of the 
provisions relating to technological transfer in the Technical Barriers to Trad e (TBT) and Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary  (SPS) Agreements.  It highlighted difficulties faced by developing countries in the two 
areas and proposed certain recommendations to enha nce flows of technology to these countries. Some 
Members appreciated the focus of communication a nd felt that it highlighted the problems faced by 
developing countries on which Members needed to  find pragmatic solutions.  Others, however, 
stressed that it was best to address those issues in the TBT/SPS Committees.  Cuba also provided 
detailed responses to the questions posed on their submission. 
22. During 2007, Members continued their delibera tions on the basis of the revised non-paper 
tabled by India, Pakistan and the Philippines. The non-paper elaborated upon some of the possible 
recommendations contained in an earlier submission4 tabled by these Members.  India, Pakistan and 
the Philippines also introduced a revised version of  the room document.  In addition to providing 
responses to some of the questions raised by Memb ers, the issues highlighted in the revised room 
document included: the linkage between Articl es 67, 66.2 and 7 of the TRIPS Agreement; 
mechanisms on voluntary guidelines developed by OCED; exchange of information on investment 
and technology-related incentives and best practices in technology transfer; information sharing 
among patent offices;  and the linkage between tec hnology transfer and the temporary movement of 
natural persons under Mode 4 of the GATS.  Th e Montreal Protocol, a multilateral environment 
agreement containing provisions on the transfer of  technology, was considered, in the proponent’s 
view as something that could be used as a model to develop possible recommendations on facilitating 
transfer of technology.  In that context, referenc es were made to Article 10 (Financial Mechanism) 
and Article 10(a) (Technology Transfer) of the Montreal Protocol.  
23. In 2008, Members continued their discussion on the two revised room documents that had  
earlier been tabled by India, Pakistan and the Philippines.  A new room document entitled 
"Facilitating Access to Information on Appropriate T echnology Sourcing – A step to increase flows of 
technology to developing countries ", was also introduced by India, Pakistan and the Philippines.  The 
new room document further built upon earlier submi ssions tabled by the pr oponents on the issue.  
While emphasizing the critical role of technol ogy and innovation in improving productivity, 
promoting export growth and thus  bridging the technological gap and facilitating the realization of 
development aspirations of developing countries, the room document also drew Members' attention to 
the importance of promoting access to and dissemina tion of information in the technology transfer 
                                                      
2 WT/WGTTT/W/10. 
3 WT/WGTT/W/12. 
4 WT/WGTT/W/10. WT/WGTTT/11 
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  process.  It also proposed the establishment of a WTO web-portal on technology transfer that could 
serve as a conduit to technology related information. 
24. During the discussion on the new room document, Members' attention was drawn to the fact 
that technology transfer had been a part of several international agreements.  For example, the Montreal Protocol established a financing mechanism for effective technology transfer in relation to 
the depletion of  the ozone layer and could present a u seful model to explore.  In that context, among 
others, the importance of experience sharing from countries that underwent rapid technological development and the important lessons drawn in their development process was underscored.  The 
rapid technological advancement of Korea in recent years was mentioned in terms of how technology 
had facilitated the Korean economy's diversificat ion in a number of sectors like automobile, 
telecommunications, manufacturing, construction,  mining, etc.  Views were expressed that 
information dissemination and experience sharing could help developing countries make more 
informed choices.  Pointing to how technology c ould help developing countries to address the 
problems associated with climate change, one Me mber urged the Working Group to consider how 
concrete flows of green technology could be facilitated.  
25. Some Members again flagged the question as to whether the WTO would be a good location 
for such a web-portal.  These Members also cautione d against the idea of using the WTO website as a 
matchmaker for buyers and sellers.  That could al so raise a host of legal and technical issues and, 
therefore, was viewed by some to be outside the mission of the WTO.   
26. During 2009, the discussions had conti nued on the new room document entitled " Facilitating 
Access to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing – A step to increase flows of technology 
to developing countries ", introduced by India, Pakistan and th e Philippines.  Members felt that the 
submission highlighted the important role that tran sfer of technology could play for the development 
of countries and for promoting their participation in global trade.  During the discussion, Members' 
attention was also drawn to the fact that technology transfer had been a part of several international 
agreements.  In that context, it was reiterated th at the Montreal Protocol  established a financing 
mechanism for effective technology transfer in rela tion to the depletion of the ozone layer and hence 
could be presented as a good model to explore for th e work on technology transfer in the Working 
Group.   
IV. FUTURE WORK 
27. Pursuant to the mandate contained in paragra ph 37 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, and 
subsequent affirmation, in paragr aph 43, by Ministers in the Hong Kong Declaration, Members have 
proceeded with the examination of  the relationship between trade and transfer of technology and have 
also continued consideration of any possible recomme ndations on steps that might be taken within the 
mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing countries.  The ongoing deliberations, on the basis of a number of submi ssions by Members and contributions by various 
intergovernmental organizati ons have covered a number  of issues.  The work undertaken, thus far, has 
contributed to enhancing Member s' understanding of the complex issued involved.  Although the 
work is progressing in the right direction, a lot still remains to be done.  In view of the relevance of 
the nexus between trade and transfer of technol ogy to the development dimension of the DDA, 
Members recommend that the Working Group should con tinue its work in order to fully achieve the 
mandate of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. 
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