. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/WGTTT/M/39/Rev.1 
19 July 2012 
 (12-3940) 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
Thirty-Ninth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 15 MARCH 2012 
 
Chairpersons:  H.E. Mrs. Mari on V. Williams (Barbados) and 
Mr. Carlos Rossi (Peru) 
 
Revision 
 
A.  ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ......................................................................................................... 1  
B.  ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON  ........................................................................................................ 1  
C.  ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  .............. 1  
D.  ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS T HAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE 
MANDATE OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES  .............................................................................................................................. .... 2 
E.  OTHER BUSINESS  ......................................................................................................................... 2  
 
 
A. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The agenda contained in Airgram WT O/AIR/3900 of 5 March 2012 was adopted. 
B. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON  
2. The meeting was opened by the outgoing Chairp erson Ambassador Marion V. Williams of  
Barbados.  Members formally elected Mr. Carlos Ro ssi of Peru as Chairman of the Working Group on 
Trade and Transfer of Technology for the year 201 2.  The incoming Chairman thanked Members for 
the confidence that they had reposed in him and for entrusting him with the important task of chairing 
the Working Group.  He also thanked the outgo ing Chairperson, Ambassador Mrs. Marion V. 
Williams of Barbados for her leadership which had helped to advance the work in the Group during 
the past year.   
3. At the outset, the incoming Chairman made a brief presentation that recapitulated the work 
undertaken by the Working Group since its inception in 2002.  Recalling the mandate of the Working 
Group, he shared his thoughts on how, he believe d, the work in the Working Group could proceed 
during the year 2012.   
C. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
4. On the examination of the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, he stated 
that work had progressed on the basis of submission s by Members, contribution by the Secretariat, 
presentations and sharing of work/studies by othe r international organizations and academics, as well 
as national experiences.  The discussion in the Work ing Group had, among others, pointed to the fact 
that in the context of international competitiven ess and shortening of technology life-cycles, economic WT/WGTTT/M/39/Rev.1 
Page 2  
 
  agents took decisions of transfer of technology us ing various channels, including those of trade and 
foreign direct investments (FDIs).  On the trade side, the presentations and submissions had highlighted trade in intermediate and capital goods , research and development (R&D) content of 
imports, trade in business and professional services, export base, and import competition.  On the FDI 
side, the presentations pointed to the difference betw een vertical and horizontal FDI, licensing, joint 
ventures and franchising as types of companies' part nerships, technology cont ent of FDI, corporate 
development responsibility, FDI in R&D and FDI linka ge with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  
In parallel, it was noted that the internationali zation of R&D and access to the internet played an 
important role in knowledge-sharing and its tran sfer.  The presentations had also shown that the 
intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes and technol ogy had a cost, and that it was necessary to pay  
royalties and licensing fees.  The role of interna tional cooperation was also underscored.  However, 
the presentations found that but little work had focu sed on the role of tax agreements, bilateral 
investment treaties (BITs) or regional trade agreements (RTAs) and their effects and international 
value chains, from the point of view of the holder of technology.  The Chairman stated that the 
Working Group may need to focus on some of these issues as part of its work in 2012.   
5. The Chairman went on to state that he intended to informally consult with Members prior to 
the next formal session in June 2012 with a view to elicit their views on how to structure work for the 
current year.  He stated that his priority w ould be to organize frequent presentations by other 
international organizations, including the private se ctor on issues that reinforce the work of the 
Working Group on the relationship between trade and transfer of technology.  In addition, he would 
encourage country presentations that highlighted  national experiences with innovation, technology 
generation and its transfer.  He also suggested that the Secretariat update the bibliography on 
technology transfer that was done in 2002.   
6. While appreciating the Chairman's presentation laden with useful information on the work 
undertaken by the Working Group during the last ten years, Members also expressed commitment 
towards fulfilling the mandate of the Group and their support for his efforts in this regard. Members 
further welcomed the suggestion to invite OECD to share its work on global value chains in the 
context of technology transfer.  Members also agreed that the Secretariat should update the 
bibliography on technology transfer that had been done in 2002.   
D. 
ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON  STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE MANDATE 
OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
7. Under the agenda item on possible recommendations  that the Working Group could make in 
the future, Members continued their discussion of  an earlier submission entitled ''Facilitating Access 
to Information on Appropriate Technology Sourcing – Steps to Increase Flows of Technology to 
Developing Countries''.  Since the submission of th is room document in 2008, a numbers of Members 
have commented and raised questions on some elemen ts of the document.  In that context, these 
Members asked the proponents whether the submission was still of some interest to them and if they 
were considering to submit a revised version of  the document based on the discussion and feedback 
they had thus far received.  The proponents r esponded by stating that they would soon submit a 
revised version of the room document.   
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
8. No issue was raised under "Other Business".   
9. The meeting was adjourned.   
__________