WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/78/Add.5
15September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3655)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Addendum
International Monetary Fund
Thepresent document reproduces theupdated information ontechnical andfinancial cooperation
activities relevant totheimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement, which hasbeenreceived fromthe
International Monetary Fund bymeans ofacommunication dated 1September 1997.
_______________
Inreply toyourrequest of16July1997, forupdated information ontechnical andfinancial
cooperation programs oftheIMFintheareaoftheTRIPS Agreement, Ihavepleasure inenclosing
atableandsupporting text. Please notethatthecolumns ofthetablerefertotheFund'sfiscal year
(which begins 1May) andnotthecalendar year; thismeans wecanshow "Actual" forFY97.Of
course, theFund doesnotundertake technical assistance inanyareathatfallsstrictly within TRIPS;
nevertheless, Itrusttheinformation willbeofinterest.IP/C/W/78/Add.5
Page2
THE FUND 'STRADE POLICY-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
TheFund hasprovided itsmember countries withtechnical assistance andtraining ineconomic
andfinancial matters almost since itsinception. Although interlinked, theFund'stechnical assistance
canbegrouped intofivebroad categories; (i)toadvise onthedesign andimplementation ofpolicy
measures; (ii)tosupport institution building; (iii)toimprove thequality andtimeliness ofstatistical
information; (iv)totrainofficials; and(v)toreview andhelpdraftlegislation. Thiscantakemany
forms, ranging from yearly Article IVconsultations andthedesign ofstabilization andstructural
adjustment programs tosetting upatax-payer identification system. Astechnical assistance isanintegral
partofFund policy dialogue withitsmember countries, itsscope intheFund goesfarbeyond tasks
specifically indicated under thisheading.
Technical assistance canbeprovided byFund staffonmissions orbyFund staffandoutside
experts onspecific technical assistance missions inresponse tospecific requests bymembers, orby
courses attheIMFInstitute. Itcanvaryfrom amission ofafewdaystosecondment ofayearor
twotoaministry orcentral bank. Assistance mayrelate toawhole range ofsubjects, including economic
policy, balance ofpayments adjustments programs, tax,government expenditure andbudgetary policies,
legalmatters, debtmanagement, exchange andtradeissues, financial sector topics, accounting, statistics,
anddataprocessing. Since 1990 specific technical assistance activities roseby75percent toapeak
in1995-96 representing over300person-years (seeattached). Thevolume ofFund technical assistance
in1997 hasdecreased somewhat (297person-years), reflecting adecline indemand from transition
countries andevents inanumber ofAfrican countries thathaveaffected assistance programs. Support
fortheassistance hascome fromtheFund'sownresources andfromdonors. TheFundhasalsorecently
established aFramework Account fortechnical assistance tohandle donor contributions forthispurpose.
Themainareas oftheFund'stechnical assistance areclosely related toitsmandate asguardian
oftheworld 'smonetary system. Theycover (inperson years) monetary andexchange rateissues (115),
fiscal policy administration (96), macroeconomic statistics anddatastandards (37), training courses
inmacroeconomics (11), legal issues related mainly tomonetary andfiscal policies (9),andother
complementary support activities (9).Itshould benoted thatnoneoftheFund'stechnical assistance
activities operates intheareaofintellectual property rights. While thereisnospecific program, Fund
staffhaveresponded torequests fortrade-related technical assistance bymember countries (forexample,
liberalization ofimport tariffs). More generally, however, trade policy issues often form apartof
thepolicy dialogue inFund programs orconsultations andmore specifically inthecontext offiscal
issues, suchastaxandtariff policy, customs management orrationalization ofsubsidies. Awareness
among Fund staffofUruguay Round-related policy commitments ofitsmembers hasbeenincreased
sincetheconclusion oftheUruguay Round. Theimplications oftheUruguay Round arealsofrequently
discussed inthegeneral policy dialogue withmembers.IP/C/W/78/Add.5
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Technical Assistance Delivery, FY1993-FY 1997
(Inperson-years)
FY1993
ActualsFY1994
ActualsFY1995
ActualsFY1996
ActualsFY1997
Actuals
Fund TABudget 188.8 194.0 220.0 211.4 172.7
Staff 90.0 100.9 115.7 108.6 97.1
HQ-based consultants 21.2 20.5 22.1 23.5 20.1
Experts 77.6 72.6 82.3 79.3 55.5
External TAresources 55.0 68.6 80.5 97.5 104.2
UNDP 28.9 19.3 16.6 25.0 21.5
Japan 20.3 40.1 51.4 65.0 67.3
Other 5.8 9.2 12.4 7.5 15.4
Total TAResources 243.8 262.6 300.5 309.0 277.0
Total regional use 242.9 243.3 271.1 280.1 251.0
African 71.0 63.8 60.6 62.4 54.5
Asia andPacific 42.4 41.2 51.4 52.4 49.0
European I 24.3 24.6 27.8 24.4 22.5
European II 60.2 65.9 79.3 73.5 57.6
Middle Eastern 10.6 11.5 16.9 23.4 26.5
Western Hemisphere 34.4 30.9 27.4 32.3 31.2
Fund (interregional) -- 5.4 7.9 11.7 9.6
Non-regional use 0.8 19.3 29.6 28.9 26.1
Total TAUse 243.7 262.6 300.7 309.0 277.0
Total resource used, byTAdepartment
Monetary &Exchange Affairs Dept. 96.8 105.7 138.1 137.3 114.6
Fiscal Affairs Department 82.5 94.8 95.1 99.8 96.2
Statistics Department 40.0 35.5 37.9 39.2 36.6
IMF Institute 11.2 13.0 14.6 14.0 11.0
Legal Department 7.7 7.5 7.9 11.0 9.3
Other 5.0 6.0 7.0 7.7 9.3
Source: Technical Assistance Secretariat.