. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/M/35 
2 May 2011 
 
 (11-2235) 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
Thirty-Fifth Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 17 MARCH 2011 
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Hisham M. Badr (Egypt) and 
H.E. Mrs. Marion V. Williams (Barbados) 
 
 
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/3709 of 2 March 2011 was adopted . 
B. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON  
2. Members formally elected Ambassador Mrs. Ma rion V. Williams of Barbados as Chairperson 
of the Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology for the year 2011.  The incoming 
Chairperson thanked Members for the confidence that  they had reposed in her and for entrusting her 
with the important task of chairing the Working Group.  She also thanked the outgoing Chairman, Ambassador Hisham Badr of Egypt, for his leadersh ip which had helped to advance the work in the 
Group during the past year. 
C. 
ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
3. Under the agenda item relating to  the relationship between trade and transfer of technology, 
the OECD made a presentation on ''Innovation, Technol ogy Transfer and STI Cooperation to address 
Global Challenges''.  The presentation highlighted the vital relevance of innovation, research and 
development (R&D), technology generation and its transfer for socio-economic policy within the 
OECD countries, as well as in the broader global context.  Among others, it found that much of the innovation was driven by investments in intangibles su ch as trademarks and patents.  Investments in 
intangibles and multi-factor productivity growth acc ounted for between two-thirds and three-quarters 
of labour-productivity growth.  The global map on R&D outlay had also undergone significant 
transformation over the years.  New global players in  R&D were fast emerging.  For example, China's 
share in global R&D between 2001 and 2006 grew from 11 to 30 per cent.  In other OECD countries like Australia, Canada, Iceland, Korea, Mexico, Ne w Zealand, Norway and Turkey, it had increased 
from 10 per cent in 1996-2001 to 13 per cent in 2001-2006.  In some OECD countries, foreign WT/WGTTT/M/35 
Page 2  
 
  affiliates carried out more R&D than what was being done at home.  Research and innovation 
activities were being externalized more and more  characterizing international cooperation, in 
particular within OECD countries, as well as among those with linked value chains or close 
proximity.  The presentation found that 15 per cent of the patents filed in OECD were invented 
abroad.  Clearly, most of the innovation and t echnology development were taking place through 
international collaborative efforts. 
4. The presentation also pointed to the fact that technology was only a part of the solution for 
mobilization of economic growth.  While intern ationalisation of R&D was vital to the global 
development agenda, foreign direct investment (F DI), trade and mobility of human resources, among 
others, were also important sources of technology tran sfer and knowledge spill-overs.  In this context, 
existence or creation of enabling environment and absorptive capacity in cap turing those spill-overs 
were considered essential to benefit from technolog y transfer efforts.  In addition, developing 
collaborative knowledge markets, where buyers and sellers could trade a variety of knowledge-intensive goods and services, could also play  an important role.  Another important point 
made in the presentation related to the role of innovation and technology an d multilateral cooperation 
in addressing global challenges such as climate chan ge including carbon emission, global health, food 
security and agriculture and energy security.  The international community and global players needed 
to focus their efforts on identifying principles a nd best practices for multilateral cooperation in the 
area of science, technology and innovation with a view to effectively addressing those emerging 
global challenges. 
5. Members felt that the OECD's presentation was a useful contribution to the work of the 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technolog y.  The discussion that ensued highlighted the 
fact that R&D and FDI flowed to a particular e nvironment characterized by, among others, stable and 
open regulatory regime, good governance, existence of appropriate infrastructure and human capital 
development.  Members expressed their interest  in learning more on how collaborative knowledge 
markets functioned, in particular in the context of South-South cooperation.  They also wished to 
know, through concrete examples, as to how the spill-overs created by FDI and trade could be 
captured. Members found that, among others, hu man capital development, intellectual property 
regime and the nature of relationship between the research systems and the domestic industry 
determined the flow of R&D to a particular destination.  
D. 
ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON  STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE MANDATE 
OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
6. 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 – A Step to  Increase Flows of Technology to 
Developing Countries''.  While the proponents' focus remained on inviting reactions from the 
developed Members to some of the proposals cont ained in the submission, some other Members 
stated that they had already provided comments in previous meetings and, based on that, they hoped 
that the proponents would be able to table a revised  submission that could take the discussions further.  
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
7. No issue was raised under "Other Business".   
8. The meeting was adjourned. 
 
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