§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to extend the TRIPS implementation deadlines for all developing countries. [78204]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 30 October 2002]: The TRIPS agreement lays down procedures for extending implementation deadlines for the Least Developed Countries (LDC). The general implementation deadline is 2005 but an extension to 2016 was agreed for pharmaceutical products at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha. There is no specific mechanism for extending TRIPS implementation deadlines for all developing countries.
The UK Government work through the EU on issues relating to the TRIPS agreement. The UK Government support the development of objective criteria to form the basis upon which extensions of TRIPS transition periods should be agreed. The UK Government therefore support the introduction into TRIPS of a mechanism for extending transition periods for individual developing countries.