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

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1. Meeting date

2. Chairperson

H.E. Ambassador Lundeg Purevsuren

3. Intervention by

Canada

4. Agenda item

10 SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

5. Statement/summary of statement

237.   As part of its ongoing commitments under TRIPS Article 66.2 , Canada is pleased to report on its work in providing incentives to enterprises and institutions for the purpose of promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least developed country Members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base. 238.   Canada's 2019 report on the implementation of TRIPS Article 66.2 (document IP/C/W/656/Add.4) updates on the range of projects and initiatives undertaken by Canada in recent years. Before discussing some of the more noteworthy projects included in 2019 report, it is noted that Canada's report on TRIPS Article 66.2 focuses primarily on non-market projects, as financed by Canadian departments, agencies, and institutions, through official development assistance, grants, and other concessional financing. For instance, the development branch of Global Affairs Canada provides financial incentives in partnership with Canadian educational and research institutions in a range of development areas like agriculture and food security, public health, sustainable development, as well as business development and capacitybuilding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 239.   In addition to updates on existing projects, the 2019 report includes information on more recent projects, such as EQWIP HUBS, a partnership with Canada World Youth and Youth Challenge International. The project, which focuses on multiple countries including Tanzania and Senegal, aims to increase the capacity of local partner organizations to deliver innovative, sustainable, gender responsive livelihood programming for young women and men through volunteer placements and the co-implementation of youth-focused innovation hubs. These hubs serve as adaptive, accessible, youth-friendly spaces that bring together the training, support services, access to capital, networks and technology young people need to access sustainable livelihoods. 240.   Another new project included in the 2019 update, Capacity Building for Sustainable Irrigation and Agriculture in Ethiopia, sets out to improve the capacity of Ethiopian public and private institutions, including colleges, to design, build and manage small-scale irrigation and microirrigation systems. A related project, Scale-up of Conservation Agriculture in East Africa, aims to scale up the results and innovations developed by the Canadian Food grains Bank in conservation agriculture among farmers in multiple countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia and Tanzania. As well, 2019 report includes information on USC Canada Seeds of Survival 2015-2020, which aims to increase seed, food and economic security in multiple countries including Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Mali, such as through participatory research to develop new crop seed varieties adapted to different agroecological zones. 241.   Canada would be pleased to provide further information on these and other technology transfer projects and programmes contained in Canada's 2019 report on the implementation of Article 66.2, upon request. Canada also invites interested delegations to consult Global Affairs Canada's searchable "International Development Project Browser" for further information on these and other initiatives. 242.   Finally, Canada would also like to take the opportunity to again thank the Secretariat for organizing the February 2019 Workshop on TRIPS Article 66.2, and to thank those Members that shared their experiences and valuable insights in this area. We look forward to the next workshop on the implementation of TRIPS Article 66.2 on the margins of the next session of the TRIPS Council, and to further discussions with other Members on these important issues.

6. Documents referred to in intervention

7. Conclusion

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.

8. Summary of the agenda item (if available)

45.   The Chair recalled that, as provided by a TRIPS Council Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of February 2003, developed country Members were to submit annual reports on actions taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments under Article 66.2. They were to provide new detailed reports every third year and updates in the intervening years.
46.   In June 2019, the Council had requested developed country Members to submit the first set of updates to the sixth set of reports in time for the October meeting, and the Secretariat had since circulated a reminder. The Council had received updated reports from the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Canada and Norway. The documents were being circulated (IP/C/W/656 and addenda). In addition, the Council had received an Advance Working Copy of the report from the European Union and some of its member States. It had been made available as a room document (RD/IP/34) on documents online; and, would also be circulated as an addendum to document IP/C/W/656, once finalised.
47.   Paragraph 2 of the Council's Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 explained that the annual review should provide Members with an opportunity to pose questions in relation to the information submitted and request additional information; discuss the effectiveness of the incentives provided in promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least developed country Members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base; and to consider any points relating to the operation of the reporting procedure established by the Decision.
48.   Some of the information by developed country Members has been received only very recently, and most of it was, so far, available only in its original language. Therefore, Members would have an opportunity to make further comments at the next meeting of the Council. This would give Members a chance to study the information recently circulated and any additional information subsequently received.
49.   For the same reasons it had been decided to once again hold the Article 66.2 Workshop in February 2020, back-to-back with the TRIPS Council’s next meeting. The dates of the workshop would be 4-6 February 2020. This would give LDC delegations sufficient time to absorb the information provided by developed-country delegations in their reports and also to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages of the WTO. The Workshop would comprise two days of sessions on 4-5 February 2020, and a reporting and review segment within the formal meeting of the TRIPS Council on 6 February 2020. The Chair invited delegations from developed-country Members to introduce their reports.
50.   The representatives of Canada; the United States of America; the European Union; Japan; Australia; Switzerland; Norway; and Bangladesh took the floor.
51.   The Chair suggested that Members be given an opportunity to continue considering the information provided at the next meeting.
52.   The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.

9. Document symbol and date of distribution

IP/C/M/93, IP/C/M/93/Add.1
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