PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON TRIPS-RELATED ASPECTS OF FIRST DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION AND FIRST DRAFT DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (TEXTS OF SEPTEMBER 2001)

The briefing argues that the draft WTO texts fail to adequately address developing country concerns, ignore the need to rebalance the TRIPS Agreement, and use vague language that may favor developed nations' interests over those of the South.

• The draft Ministerial Declaration is criticized for omitting public health concerns and failing to provide cross-references to any separate declarations that might address these issues.
• The authors express concern that the draft's language regarding the TRIPS Council's mandate is unbalanced, providing a stronger obligation to keep the agreement 'abreast' of technological developments (of interest to developed nations) than to give 'due attention' to traditional knowledge (of interest to developing nations).
• The draft's approach to geographical indications is viewed as unclear, particularly regarding the legal mandates for wines and spirits and whether protection should be extended to additional product areas.
• The proposed mandate for examining the relationship between trade and transfer of technology is considered insufficient because it rejects a joint developing country proposal for a horizontal working group and delays recommendations until the Fifth Ministerial.
• The Implementation Decision is described as limited in scope and lacking immediate concessions to rebalance the TRIPS Agreement, focusing primarily on Article 66.2 and non-violation complaints.
• The authors argue that the proposed moratorium on non-violation complaints in Annex II point 7 does not resolve the underlying concern that such complaints should not apply to the TRIPS Agreement at all.
• The 'single undertaking' principle for negotiations is perceived as weakened by a provision allowing agreements reached at an early stage to be implemented provisionally or definitively, which could allow powerful governments to secure 'early harvest' results.

APA

Stilwell, M., & Vivas, D. (2001). PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON TRIPS-RELATED ASPECTS OF FIRST DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION AND FIRST DRAFT DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (TEXTS OF SEPTEMBER 2001). Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration.pdf

Chicago

Stilwell, Matthew, and David Vivas. PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON TRIPS-RELATED ASPECTS OF FIRST DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION AND FIRST DRAFT DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (TEXTS OF SEPTEMBER 2001). Center for International Environmental Law, 2001. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stilwell |first1=Matthew |last2=Vivas |first2=David |title=PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON TRIPS-RELATED ASPECTS OF FIRST DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION AND FIRST DRAFT DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (TEXTS OF SEPTEMBER 2001) |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=October 2001 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stilwell2001preliminary, author = {Stilwell, Matthew and Vivas, David}, title = {{PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ON TRIPS-RELATED ASPECTS OF FIRST DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION AND FIRST DRAFT DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (TEXTS OF SEPTEMBER 2001)}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2001}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }