ONGOING AND FUTURE RESEARCH 93. The Commission considered item 9 of · · 5 April 1990. It had before it th lts agenda at lts 5th meeting, on trade-related aspects of intellect~a~ep~~t:rof t~e Secretary-General on investment measures (TRIMs) (E/C.l0/19~0/i3 ty rlghts (TRIPs) an~ trade-related corporations (E/C.l0/1990118) A th' d ), and on non-con~ent1onal transnational activit' . . . lr report related to thls agenda item, on the , . t l~s of the Unlted Natlons Centre on Transnational Corporations and of the JOln. un1ts established with the regional commissions (E/C.l0/1990/16), was ~onslder~d separately under agenda item 12 (on the activities of the Centre on ransnat1onal Corporations). 94 •. The Executive Director of the Centre introduced the report on TRIPs and TRIMs, statlng.that the Centre had sought to examine the impact of intellectual property protect1on on technology and investment flows, and of trade-related investment measures on the behaviour of investors and on economic development in host countries. 95. He noted that all countries had an inter@.st in providing adequate protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, particularly developing countries as net importers of technology and foreign investment. However, the impact of intellectual property protection on technology and investment flows had not always been uniform in all countries. The mixed evidence on impact suggested t~at most countries -particularly developing countries -found it necessary to complement intellectual property protection with an appropriate set of investment and transfer-of-technology measures. 96. The evidence on the impact of TRIMs was similar: there were both positive and negative effects in the use of particular investment measures; but there was already a clear trend towards the liberalization of such measures, although the mixed evidence suggested that host countries may still need to use certain investment measures in particular situations, such as to address market imperfections or for other public policy reasons. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the impact of intellectual property protection and trade-related investment measures on technology and investment flows, as well as the behavior of investors and economic development in host countries. The focus is on the economic aspects of international trade, particularly the relationship between intellectual property rights and investment.

**Category**
International trade