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

Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke (Barbados)
Chinese Taipei
B NEGOTIATION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MULTILATERAL SYSTEM OF NOTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR WINES AND SPIRITS
25. The representative of Chinese Taipei thanked the Chairman for preparing the report and said that the informal consultations held during the preparation phase had been especially useful. In their view, the report had provided guidance on the work of the Special Session and had demonstrated how the Chairman could navigate through difficult issues of a sensitive nature and firmly held positions, while ensuring full participation, inclusiveness and transparency. His delegation welcomed the changes made by the Chairman in paragraphs 11 and 12 of the original draft in which he explicitly stated his view that the wording of the negotiating mandate did not necessarily mean that participation had to be voluntary or mandatory. Although his delegation did not share this view and continued to believe that participation in the GI register should be voluntary, he welcomed this effort of encouraging Members to compromise which could advance the negotiations. His delegation believed that it was this spirit of cooperation that was needed if the DDA was to be completed successfully.
The Special Session took note of the statements made.
TN/IP/M/24