24. The representative of the United States said that his delegation also wished to commend the delegation of Romania for its statement and the notification it had made, in particular its desire to participate in a review that could feed it with valuable information. His delegation supported the suggestions and comments made by the European Communities that the Council should start to consider how it would tackle the work that lay ahead for Members as the transition periods came to an end. He emphasized the usefulness of the idea that, if possible, those WTO Members which had taken steps to implement TRIPS obligations should be encouraged to participate voluntarily in the review process in advance of the expiration of their transition periods, obviously not challenging their entitlement to that period, but merely to aid in the process of the review of legislation. This would be fully consistent with the first recommendation that the Council put in its report to the Singapore Ministerial, where all Members reaffirmed the importance of full implementation of the TRIPS Agreement within the applicable transition periods as well as the importance of each Member taking the steps which it considered appropriate so that the provisions of the Agreement would be applied.
