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

Ambassador Eui-yong Chung (Korea, Republic of)
D ORGANIZATION OF WORK
19. The representative of Turkey supported the Chairman's thinking and suggestions. In this context, he fully supported the two-phase approach and agreed there was a need for an annotated agenda and a single paper as the basis for negotiations. It was Turkey's sincere desire to engage in substantive negotiations as soon as possible in order to gain more time for this important exercise. His delegation knew that in order to enter into meaningful negotiations, a sound basis was necessary. However, taking into account the fact that the negotiations in this field started a long time ago as a built-in agenda item, there was already a sound basis which could easily be built on. Deadlines for the submission of proposals should be flexible and each delegation should have the opportunity to do so whenever it wished or deemed necessary. He underlined the utmost importance his country attached to the issue of extension of additional protection to geographical indications for products other than wines and spirits. His delegation wished to see the negotiations start on this issue as soon as possible. It associated itself with the statements made by the EC, Switzerland and Bulgaria.
TN/IP/M/1