RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/WGTTT/M/33 
22 November 2010 
 
 (10-6225) 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
Thirty-Third Session  
 
 
 
NOTE ON THE MEETIN G OF 2 NOVEMBER 2010 
 
Chairperson:  H.E. Mr. Hisham M. Badr (Egypt) 
  
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 ............................................................................................................................... ...3 
D. OTHER BUSINESS .........................................................................................................................3  
 
 A. 
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1. The agenda contained in Airgram WTO/ AIR/3644 of 19 October 2010 was adopted .   
B. ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADE AND TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY  
2. Under the agenda item relating to the relations hip between trade and transfer of technology, 
Members continued their discussion on UNCTAD's presentation made at the last meeting of the Working Group.  The presentation by UNCTAD was based on its report:  " Technology and 
Innovation Report 2010:  Enhancing food security  in Africa through science, technology and 
innovation ".  It focused on the challenges of improving agricultural performance in Africa and the 
role that technology transfer and innovation have played in raising agricultural production and incomes of all farmers, including small-scale farms.  Members found that many of the findings in the 
report were insightful in terms of highlighting the ro le of the private sector in promoting innovation, 
through local partners in the African agricultura l sector.  These could address poverty issues, improve 
food security and achieve broader econom ic growth and development.  In this context, the role that 
South-South cooperation could play in facilitati ng technology transfer was also highlighted.  
Additionally, the key role the appropriate enabling environment plays was underscored.   
3. The discussion emphasized the importance of focu sing on the full range of issues that affect 
agricultural development, from in creasing agricultural productivity in the field to supporting good 
governance and policy reform in capitals.  Some Memb ers felt that it would be useful to learn more 
about developing countries' strategies for improving their absorptive capacity, attracting, developing 
and disseminating technology.  They saw great value in exchanging information and sharing 
experiences on innovation and technology developmen t as lessons could be learnt from the real-life 
experiences.  Members felt that such an exercise w ould prove useful to help move forward the work 
in the Working Group.  It would also contribute to a better identification of the areas where trade 
plays a critical role in technology transfer, and w ould also help highlight the role technology has 
played in enhancing trade and ultimately impacting on growth and development.  WT/WGTTT/M/33 
Page 2  
 
  4. Members expressed their disappointment with th e OECD's inability to make a presentation at 
the meeting of the Working Group .  Highlighting the usefulness of past presentations by Members 
and international organizations  including UNCTAD, UNDP, the World Bank, and the FAO on the 
technology transfer work they have been undertak ing, Members noted that experience sharing on 
those issues would be very useful, and in fact essen tial, to the work in the Working Group.  Members 
felt the need to continue to have presentations  on national experiences with technology-transfer 
programmes, since such presentations were useful  in encouraging technology transfer.  Some 
Members repeated their earlie r request that those Members which had undergone rapid 
industrialization in the last few decades might be  asked to share their experiences.  They also 
cautioned that if the work of transfer of tec hnology was not taken seriously, the divide between 
technology haves and have-nots would further widen.  Accordingly, Members requested the Chair to 
continue encouraging Members and other internati onal organizations, such as the WIPO and UNEP to 
share their experiences and work on innovation and technology with the Working Group.  Without a better understanding on what mechanisms and tools al ready existed, it would be difficult to envision 
how Members' understanding of the technology-transf er process and, therefore, the work in the 
Working group could proceed effectively.   
5. With respect to WIPO, it was stated that WIPO was proceeding with several proposals to 
improve information and coordina tion on technical assistance, including an "IP Technical Assistance 
Database" (IP-TAD) and an "IP Development Ma tchmaking Database" (IP-DMD) which could serve 
a technology transfer purpose.  Accordingly, Members agreed to invite WIPO to  share its work in the 
area of technology and its transfer at one of the future meetings of the Working Group.   
6. Some Members felt that since most of the Multilateral Environment Agreements had fairly 
detailed provisions on technology transfer, it coul d be educative to invite UNEP to share its 
experiences in this area with the Working Group.  One Member, however, sought additional 
clarification on what precisely Members had in mind with respect to the invitation to UNEP and the value additional of such a presentation.   
7. Some Members also requested the UNCTAD re presentative, present at the meeting, to 
consider sharing UNCTAD's work on the role of South-South cooperation in technology transfer.  
Those Members further requested UNCTAD to pr epare a paper on policy guidelines for technology 
transfer and the kind of incentives provided by the developed countries to their firms to encourage 
technology transfer to developing countries and the LDCs.   
8. Switzerland
 provided an update on the Lausanne  Group – a private initiative on innovation 
and technology transfer by the École Polytechni que Fédérale de Lausa nne (EPFL), development 
practitioners and the Swiss SMEs.  The "Lausanne Gr oup" sought to identify best ways to overcome 
the mismatch between a private company's dema nd in LDCs and a private company's offer in 
developed countries, like for example Switzerland.  In order to understand the mismatch and the 
needed remedies, the Lausanne Group had initiated a ''pilot case study'' with a Tanzanian company.  
In elaborating upon the details of the "pilot case study" on the use of waste wood from forestry 
operations, it was stated that the Tanzanian firm  was looking for appropriate technology to process 
waste wood.  The ''pilot case study'' would also demonstrate the importance of identifying potential 
issues related to innovation and technology transfer in the LDCs and the developing countries as well 
as building inter-linkages and supporting the whol e process of knowledge ex change and know-how 
through an appropriate funding and coaching mechan ism.  The Working Group was informed that the 
results of the "pilot case study" were expected to be ready in the spring of 2011 and that the Swiss 
delegation could provide the Working Gr oup with an update on its results.    WT/WGTTT/M/33 
 Page 3 
 
 
  C. ANY POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON  STEPS THAT MIGHT BE TAKEN WITHIN THE MANDATE 
OF THE WTO TO INCREASE FLOWS OF TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
9. Under the agenda item on possible recommendations  on steps that might be taken within the 
mandate of the WTO to increase flows of t echnology to developing countries, the Chairman  reported 
to Members on the inputs received from other WT O bodies on their work on trade and transfer of 
technology.  With the exception of four WTO bodies, all other bodies had reported that they had not 
done any substantive work in relation to trade and tr ansfer of technology since their last reports in 
2002.  Only the Committee on Trade and Environmen t, the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitory 
Measures, the Committee on TRIMS and the Council fo r TRIPS had reported that some work on the 
issue of technology and its transfer had been unde rtaken.  Most notably, the Council for TRIPS had 
reported on its continuous work on the ''Implementati on of Article 66:2'' of the TRIPS Agreement.   
10. In the ensuing discussion, Members thanked the Chairman for his report.  Commenting on the 
report by the Chairman, some Members said that the lack of appropriate attention by some WTO bodies to an important issue like technology transfer ra n counter to the imperatives of development.  It 
put an added responsibility on the shoulders of the Wo rking Group to intensify its efforts in coming 
up with appropriate recommendations to facilitate technology transfer to developing countries.  In 
addition, some Members also st ated that the Secretariat's compilation on technology transfer 
provisions contained in WTO Agreements highlighted that such provisions were spread out horizontally across WTO Agreements.  However, in their view, the focus of discussion in the WTO, 
in the context of technology transfer, had largely been on Article 66.2 of the Agreement on TRIPS.  
Members felt that it would be interesting to unders tand how transfer of technology provisions were 
being implemented elsewhere in the WTO.  On Ar ticle 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, they believed 
that while it was an obligation on developed count ry Members to report to TRIPS Council on their 
efforts on transfer of technology, it would also be useful to undertake an impact analysis of such transfer of technology activities.  Accordingly,  those Members requested the developed country 
Members to present their impact assessment on the ex tent to which transfer of technology to LDCs 
had actually contributed the increase in LDC's trade.   
11. Members also considered a compilation of provi sions relating to technology transfer in WTO 
Agreements that had been prepared by the Secretar iat at the request of Members.  The Working Group 
agreed that the Secretariat would issue the compilation as a JOB document.
1 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
12. No issue was raised under "Other Business".   
13. The meeting was adjourned.   
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1 JOB/DEV/10.