§ Tony WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if the Government will recommend extending TRIPS implementation deadlines for all developing countries. [78220]
§ Ms HewittI have been asked to reply
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 works through the EU on issues relating to the TRIPS Agreement. The UK government supports the development of objective criteria to form the basis upon which extensions of TRIPS transition periods should be agreed. The UK government therefore supports the introduction into TRIPS of a mechanism for extending transition periods for individual developing countries.