TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul21/06)
7 July 2021
Third World Network

Questions posed to ministers on fisheries tilted against interests of South
Published in SUNS #9382 dated 7 July 2021

Geneva, 6 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) – Ahead of the virtual trade ministerial meeting on fisheries subsidies on 15 July, the WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the chair of the Doha Rules negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, have posed two questions that seem to be tilted against the interests of the developing countries, said people familiar with the development.

The first question seeks approval from trade ministers to treat the revised draft text issued by the chair on 30 June as the basis for concluding the fisheries subsidies negotiations, while the second question is on limiting special and differential treatment (S&DT) to the very poor and vulnerable artisanal fishers.

In their email to trade ministers on 2 July, and seen by this writer, the WTO DG and the chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations failed to address the real issues and the real questions, said people, who asked not to be quoted.

It says little about how the global fish stocks have been deleted through overcapacity and overfishing by the ten big subsidizers that include the United States, the European Union, Japan, Korea, and lately China, said people, who asked not to be quoted.

Without mentioning the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) under which the fisheries subsidies negotiations are being conducted, it speaks of the 20-year delay in concluding the fisheries subsidies agreement but fails to mention the other core issues of the DDA, including the cuts in domestic farm subsidies, the special safeguard mechanism, and the permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security.

It repeatedly maintains that the proposed disciplines in the latest draft text on fisheries subsidies aim to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6 and the Buenos Aires ministerial decision issued in December 2017.

However, a closer examination reveals substantially that the proposed disciplines fail to live up to the mandate set out in SDG 14.6 and the Buenos Aires ministerial decision, said people, who asked not to be quoted.

According to the UN SDG 14.6, WTO members are required to, by end 2020, “prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing, and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation.”

The Buenos Aires ministerial decision states that “members agree to continue to engage constructively in the fisheries subsidies negotiations, with a view to adopting, by the ministerial conference in 2019, an agreement on comprehensive and effective disciplines that prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU-fishing recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing country members and least developed country members should be an integral part of these negotiations.”

The ministerial decision says that “members re-commit to implementation of existing notification obligations under Article 25.3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures thus strengthening transparency with respect to fisheries subsidies.”

Yet, the two-page letter issued to the trade ministers does not raise any fundamental questions on the specific carve-outs allegedly being provided to the big subsidizers to continue with their industrial-scale fishing in the overcapacity and overfishing (OC&OF) pillar, said people, who asked not to be quoted.

THE LETTER TO TRADE MINISTERS

The letter to the trade ministers says that “since the mid-seventies, when Members started governing marine fisheries based on these principles, the status of stocks has continued to deteriorate as unsustainable fishing has continued: in 1974, 10% of fish stocks were overfished; in 2000 (just before these negotiations at the WTO started) it was 27%; and in 2017 it was 34%.”

However, the letter does not mention which members contributed to “unsustainable fishing” and the “global depletion of fisheries stocks,” said people familiar with the development.

After explaining its assessment about developments in the global fisheries subsidies sector as well as the stalled Doha Rules negotiations, in which fisheries subsidies is one part, for the past 20 years, the letter fails to address why specific carve-outs are allegedly being given to the big subsidizers, while undermining the special and differential treatment provisions or the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as outlined in the climate change agreement, said people familiar with the text.

In line with the enhanced transparency and notification requirements that were proposed by the United States and several other developed countries, as well as ignoring the special carve-outs for the big subsidizers in the OC&OF pillar in Article 5.1.1 in the chair’s latest draft text, the letter says that “transparency with respect to the measures that Members take to ensure that subsidies do not encourage illegal or unsustainable fishing will clearly have a key role as an integral part of the disciplines.”

The letter does not mention what would constitute “unsustainable fishing.”

Without adhering to the “polluter-pays” principle as well as acknowledging the damage caused by the big subsidizers to the global fish stocks, the letter says that “we also need to acknowledge that different Members have different capacities, which must be taken into account in the negotiations. However, the status of fisheries is fundamentally a shared responsibility.”

“To move the negotiations forward, and to ensure that we conclude an agreement that respects the mandate from SDG target 14.6 and the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference, your replies to the following questions would be appreciated,” the letter addressed to the ministers has stated.

It says that “while there were many questions that could have been asked, we hope that your replies to these two will help to make it clear that, together, we will reach agreement.”

The two questions posed to the ministers are as follows:

“1. The negotiations on disciplines to fisheries subsidies in the WTO have been going on for 20 years. During that time some Members have reformed their fisheries policies, and some stocks have improved as a result. However, the general picture is depressing as unsustainable fishing has increased while academic studies suggest global subsidy levels have remained the same.

“To stop continued degradation of the world’s fisheries resources and of the economic activities and livelihoods that they support, can you, as Ministers, affirm your commitment to conclude the fisheries subsidies negotiations as soon as possible ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, and confirm that the basic elements of the landing zones necessary to reach a conclusion are contained within the current draft text.

“To that end, would you be prepared to fully authorize your Heads of Delegation in Geneva to contribute to the flexibility needed to conclude the negotiations?

“2. In many ways the disciplines on fisheries subsidies are unique. This is the first time that we are addressing harmful subsidies from the perspective of sustainability. In addition, many aspects of the fisheries sector are unique compared to other economic sectors, including that fish stocks are the common patrimony of all humanity and many specific fish stocks are shared by two or more Members as fish move from one jurisdiction to another or into and out of the high seas.

“Moreover, in all parts of the world, poor communities depend on fishing as their only source of employment and sometimes even of food.

“The mandate from SDG target 14.6 and the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference embeds the requirements both to discipline those subsidies that harm sustainability, and to ensure that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing country Members and Least Developed Country (LDC) Members is an integral part of the negotiations.

“Transparency is an essential element for fulfilling this mandate. In this context, of particular concern for many developing country Members and LDC Members are their vulnerable fishing communities.

“For purposes of this negotiation alone, and without prejudice to any Member’s position on special and differential treatment in any other context, can we agree that the key component of special and differential treatment is for poor and vulnerable artisanal fishers in developing country Members and LDC Members?”

These two questions seem flawed and tilted in favour of the big subsidizers who are engaged in industrial-scale fishing, particularly by remaining silent on the lack of robust disciplines in the overcapacity and overfishing pillar, said people, who asked not to be quoted.

Trade ministers must reject these two questions on grounds that they fail to raise the real questions with regards to safeguarding the interests of the big subsidizers in the developed countries, said people, who asked not to be quoted.