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

Ambassador Dacio Castillo (Honduras)
World Trade Organization
9 FOLLOW-UP TO TENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
9.8. The representative of the Secretariat said that the Secretariat's work to improve the flow of information did not preempt the Council's ongoing consideration of a standard format, nor did it go into the domain of analysing or interpreting submissions. The work focused on practical ways of managing the flow of information, at the point of collection, processing and distribution and at the point of users of that information. This had important practical implications on Secretariat resources. The work of the Council accounted for almost 10% of all of the documentation and translation functions of the WTO overall, more than the double of that of any other Council or Committee. Furthermore, while it demonstrated the high volume of valuable information that the Secretariat was dealing with, it was also a reminder that practical ways of managing that flow could be found to improve its accessibility and utility. Therefore, in that regard the Secretariat was in informal consultation with delegations directly. 9.9. The Secretariat was working on an optional reporting tool under Article 66.2, which would give reporting Members the option of a simplified online or digital means of capturing the information. This would then automatically flow more easily into reporting and distribution of the information as well as reducing some of the costs associated with the documentation. A tentative prototype was in preparation and the Secretariat would be engaging with interested and notifying delegations when it became available. He was hopeful such discussions could take place before the next session of the Council.
IP/C/M/72