RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/M/25 
24 November 2008 
 (08-5728) 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
Twenty-Fifth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 21 OCTOBER 2008 
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Kwabena Baah-Duodu (Ghana)  
  
A.
 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA .........................................................................................................1  
B. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY ..............1  
C. 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 
D. OTHER BUSINESS .........................................................................................................................3  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The agenda contained in Airgram WT O/AIR/3253 of 7 October 2008 was adopted . 
B. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
2. Under the agenda item relating to the analysis of the relationship between trade and transfer 
of technology, Members continued their considerati on of the relationship between trade and transfer 
of technology on the basis of the World Bank study entitled " Global Economic Prospects:  
Technology Diffusion in the Developing World " introduced at the 23rd meeting of the Working Group. 
While underscoring the critical link that technology could provide in contributing to sustainable 
economic growth and in poverty reduction, the study took an in-depth look at recent trends in 
technological advancements and how  various factors influenced the diffusion of technology in 
developing countries.  In underscoring the importan ce of information dissemination and the sharing of 
national experiences with technology transfer, the di scussion drew attention to an earlier presentation 
by UNCTAD on ''Trends in Cross-Border Flows of  Technology'', which had been made at the 
19th Session.  The presentation had highlighted the f act that technology ownership and development 
remained concentrated in developed countries.   
3. Members felt that although the presentations had been useful contributions in the 
deliberations of the Working Group, they had no t had enough time to consider them since the 
presentations had only been provided during the course of the meetings.  In that context, Members 
requested that, in future, a copy of the presenta tions or an executive summary be circulated to 
Members, well in advance,  so that there could be a useful exchange of ideas with the presenters.   
4. Referring to the World Food Summit that had ta ken place during the year, one Member stated 
that technology transfer presented the biggest challenge  to agriculture development.  It was suggested 
that the Working Group invite the Food and Agri culture Organization (FAO) to make a presentation 
on the linkage between technology transfer and pr oductivity gains in agriculture.  Members also WT/WGTTT/M/25 
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  agreed to  request similar presentations from organisations like OECD, UNIDO, WIPO and others that 
have also worked on transfer of technology, to share their studies/experiences on the subject .   
C. 
 ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON STEPS T HAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE MANDATE 
OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
5. Under the agenda item relating to the consider ation of possible recommendations on steps that 
might be taken within the mandate of the WTO to increase flows of technology to developing 
countries, Members continued their discussion on the new room document entitled "Facilitating 
Access to Information on Appropriate Technology S ourcing – A step to increase flows of technology 
to developing countries", introduced, during the last m eeting, by India, Pakistan and the Philippines.  
The new room document built upon earlier submissions tabled by the proponents on the issue.  In 
recapitulating the salient points raised in the submission, the proponents  stated that the submission 
was based on the conviction that the discussions on the relationship between trade and transfer of 
technology needed to be continued in recognition of  the important role that transfer of technology 
could play for the development of countries and in promoting the participation of developing 
countries in global trade.  Members' attention was draw n to the fact that technology transfer had been 
a part of several international agreements and th e proponents pointed out that the Montreal Protocol 
established a financing mechanism for effective tec hnology transfer in relation to depletion of the 
ozone layer and hence presented a good model.   
6. While emphasising the critical role of te chnology and innovation in improving productivity, 
promoting export growth and thus  bridging the technological gap and facilitating the realization of 
development aspirations of deve loping countries, the new room document also drew Members' 
attention to the importance of promoting access to and dissemination of information in the technology 
transfer process.  In addition, the submission point ed to specific provisions on transfer of technology 
in several WTO agreements, for example on the TRIPS Agreement, and drew the attention of 
Members to the concept of "Asymmetric Information"  and the lack of knowledge about the structure  
of international transfer of technology (ITT) cont racts in many developing countries.  The importance 
of experience sharing from countries that had undergone rapid technological  development and the 
important lessons drawn in their development proce sses was underscored.  In this context, the rapid 
technological advancement of Korea in recent y ears was mentioned including how technology had 
facilitated Korean economy's diversification in  a number of sectors such as automobile, 
telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, mining, etc.  Information dissemination and 
experience sharing could help developing countries make more informed choices.  Pointing to the 
issue of climate change and how technology coul d help developing countries address the problems 
associated with climate change, one Member urge d the Working Group to consider how concrete 
flows of green technology could be facilitated.  
7. The new room document had also recommended developing a webpage that would provide 
information on technology transfer-related subjects,  including reports by Members on the fulfilment 
of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, as well as requests on specific technology needs and/or 
technology offers and links to in tellectual property clearinghouses.   
8. In the discussion that followed, Members shared  the view that the submission was a useful 
contribution to the deliberations in the Working Group.  While some Members believed that the creation of a webpage was a reasonable proposal in terms of cost-effectiveness and potential benefits, 
others raised a number of questions relating to th e possible location of the web-portal, the legal and 
commercial implications of such a website, to the extent that it could become a forum for bids and 
offers.  In this context, questions were also fla gged with regard to the competence of the WTO.  One 
Member also asked how the proposed website in the WTO would relate to the work being undertaken 
by the World Intellectual Property Organization (W IPO) and what would be the added-value in 
locating it in the WTO.  The question as to whet her WIPO would be a good location for such a  WT/WGTTT/M/25 
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  web-portal was raised.  These Members also cautione d against the idea of using the WTO website to 
match buyers and sellers, as that could raise a host of  legal and technical issues, and seemed to them 
to be outside the mission of the WTO as a trade "rulemaker" and umpire rather than a trade "matchmaker."  In another Member's view, while the work in WIPO and WTO might be related and 
complementary, the focus in WIPO remained on intellectual property and development, whereas in 
the WTO, the focus of work  was specifically on technology transfer and trade. 
9. In concluding the discussion, the proponents
 requested Members to provide their questions in 
writing so as to facilitate the formation of appropriate  responses to them.  It was also proposed that the 
Working Group invite WIPO to one  of its future meetings, to make a presentation on the related 
website presently maintained by them.   
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
10. No issue was raised under "Other Business". 
 
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