§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the World Trade Organisation's Trade-Related Intellectual Property Agreement. [100427]
§ Mr. CabornMinisters and officials have received many representations about the WTO's TRIPS agreement. Many of these have been supportive of that Agreement and its implementation in view of its importance to encourage investment. Some have questioned whether parts of the Agreement might be detrimental to development interests. We have given assurances that there is much flexibility in the TRIPS agreement to allow for development interests to be taken into account.