15. The representative of Brazil thanked the Chairman for his good work and for the report that he had presented. In his view, the report was a fair reflection of the discussions held in the TRIPS Special Session. His delegation stood ready to work with his successor, under the guiding principles as proposed, especially in the area of special and differential treatment, which he felt required precise and effective guidelines. He also expressed the view that the establishment of the GI register should not impose undue financial and administrative burdens on Members.
16. He expressed his delegation's concerns with paragraph 12 of the report and the interpretation of several terms. He said it should be kept in mind that the register should be useful and meaningful, as highlighted in TN/C/W/52, and that the issue of participation should be discussed in that light. Noting the Chairman's explicit intention in paragraph 7 of the report not to include a detailed account of the discussions on the other TRIPS issues, he reiterated Brazil's view that the three TRIPS-related issues should be treated on an equal footing and should all form part of any outcome of the Round. In his delegation's view, the key elements of these three issues should be in place by the time of modalities, so that negotiations could be concluded in all three TRIPS areas.
17. He recalled that one side of the debate had changed its position significantly during the negotiating process. In drafting document TN/C/W/52, the more extreme elements of the initial positions of over one hundred participating countries had been significantly watered down, modified and accommodated in order to find a solution which was more closely related to the middle ground of these discussions. The other side, in his view, had thus far failed to show the same level of flexibility. His delegation stood ready to cooperate in the technical discussions on the functioning of the register in this negotiating group, as long as the other two issues were addressed in parallel at the same time.
