Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Choi Hyuck (Korea)
J TRANSITION PERIOD FOR LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES; REQUEST FOR EXTENSION
266. The representative of Japan said that, according to the text of Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, LDC Members were required to explain their duly motivated requests. Based on such explanations, Members should consider whether or not to accord the extension. In that process, Members should pay attention to the balance between the Members who had already implemented the Agreement and the Members who had made the request. Attention should also be paid to implications for countries who wished to join the WTO. Applying these points to the present constellation, careful consideration would be required in order to assess whether the submitted explanation was sufficient. In his view, extensions should be accorded on a Member-by-Member basis in accordance with each country's situation. Given that his delegation had received the request only a week ago, it needed more time to evaluate it before taking a decision.
IP/C/M/49