16. The Chairperson recalled that, at the meeting of the Council for TRIPS that had taken place in March 2017, Members had remained divided both on the substantive and procedural issues. Therefore, no progress had been made. She encouraged Members to consider how to make progress on these issues, rather than repeat well-known positions. Members were invited to report on their bilateral discussions, since the last meeting.
17. The representatives of India; South Africa; Brazil; Ecuador7; the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Indonesia; Egypt; China; the United States; Japan; Canada; Australia; Switzerland; and the Republic of Korea took the floor.
18. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.
19. The Chairperson recalled that the review of Article 27.3 (b) was an integral part of the TRIPS Agreement. However, information on important developments that many WTO Members had seen in this area over the last decade had not been provided to the Council. Since 2003, there had been no responses or updates to the Illustrative List of Questions on Article 27.3(b), and no notifications of domestic mechanisms to protect genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Members were encouraged to check whether they had information that ought to be shared in the WTO, and to submit notifications in a timely manner.
