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

H.E. Ambassador Dagfinn Sørli and Ambassador Dr. Lansana Gberie
Chad on behalf of LDC Group
10 FOLLOW-UP TO THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

217.   Following the statements made by the developed country Members, I would like to pay tribute to all these statements by responding briefly. 218.   At the Workshop, I think it was the Director of the IP Division who indicated that when the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement were adopted, nobody could know how the technologies concerned would evolve, since that question lay beyond the scope of vision of the TRIPS negotiators at the time. Today, we see the extremely important role occupied by technologies in our lives, in our societies, in the way we see the modern world, in the industrialization of our countries. And the LDC Group recognizes the socioeconomic benefits generated by each of the projects reported by developed country Members. It is very interesting to see the examples that have been presented or developed by Japan, Switzerland, the United States and the European Union. All these are extremely important, whether in the area of water or in projects funded to build capacity for renewable energy and energy efficiency. And there are other aspects that also relate to water and water resources, and the issue of climate change raised by Switzerland. All of these areas are extremely important to us and we need technology transfer to effectively boost our economies. 219.   The importance of technology in agriculture is already known, but in recent years we have also seen the importance of technology in mitigating climate change and combating diseases, in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic. 220.   Hence the LDCs attach great importance to the effective implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement since technology not only helps to stimulate production but also to maintain standards. So we recognize the contribution of the developed country Members. Here we tell ourselves that what has been done so far regarding expectations in relation to Article 66.2 is far from adequate. We therefore encourage Members to continue their efforts and pursue the dialogue with the LDCs so that the spirit and letter of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement can be respected and effectively implemented for the benefit of the LDCs that are currently the most vulnerable and fragile countries in terms of trade and also economic development. We rely heavily on the support of our developed partners to ensure that the provisions of Article 66.2 can be implemented effectively or at all events can be operational on the ground.

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
51. The Chair recalled that the Council had conducted the Nineteenth Annual Review under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement at its meeting in October 2021. At that meeting delegations from developed country Members had briefly presented the updated reports they had submitted under Article 66.2, and the Council had agreed that it would revert to the item at the present meeting to permit continued consideration of the submitted material. He also recalled that, in July 2020, the LDC Group had circulated a new submission entitled "Proposed New Template for Annual Reporting under Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights" in document .
52. In order to give LDCs more time to absorb the information provided by developed country Members in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages of the WTO, the Secretariat had once again organized a "Workshop on the Implementation of the Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement". Due to the sanitary situation, the workshop had been held in virtual format on 2, 3 and 4 March 2022. The Chair indicated that some capital-based delegates who had participated in that Workshop were present at the meeting.
53. The Chair asked the Secretariat to report on this Workshop.
54. A representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
55. The representatives of Sierra Leone; Chad,; Bangladesh; Togo; Nepal; Tanzania; Norway; the European Union; the United Kingdom, South Africa; Japan; Switzerland; the United States; Canada; and Australia took the floor.
56. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
IP/C/M/104/Add.1, IP/C/M/104/Rev.1, IP/C/M104