MULTILATERAL SYSTEM OF NOTIFICATION AND
REGISTRATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR WINES AND SPIRITS
Report by
the Chairman, Ambassador Alfredo Suescum (Panama)
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1. I present this report on my own
responsibility and without prejudice to the position of delegations or to the
outcome of negotiations on the negotiations on the establishment of a
multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical
indications (GIs) for wines and spirits ("GI Register") in the
Special Session of the Council for TRIPS.
2. Since my last written report,
circulated as document _TN/IP/32 on 13 December 2023, there has
been little activity in the TRIPS negotiations on the GI register. I have held informal individual consultations with a number of principal
proponent delegations to hear their thoughts on how and if the Special Session
might proceed in fulfilling its mandate.
3. In my consultations, I have reminded delegations that moving forward
would require significant efforts to overcome persistent disagreements on
substantive and procedural issues in the GI register negotiations. I stressed
that the negotiations would be driven by Members, but more particularly by the
proponents of the GI Register. I invited these delegations to reflect on
relatively recent events (e.g. in multilateral, bilateral and regional
agreements and in domestic GI protection systems) to see if these events might
suggest any novel ideas on how the Special Session might proceed in moving
forward.
4. In these exchanges, Members expressed little willingness to engage
substantively in the TRIPS Special Session for the moment. Nonetheless, the delegations
generally stressed that the negotiations remained important for them, and indicated
their readiness and willingness to reflect on how the work of the Special
Session could be reinvigorated.
5. Regarding next steps, I will hold additional informal individual
consultations with interested delegations to hear their thoughts on the work of
the Special Session. It remains my hope that delegations will eventually return
to substantive discussion in the TRIPS Special Session and work
towards a multilateral conclusion of its mandate.
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