TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul21/14)
15 July 2021
Third World Network

Attempts to deny S&DT to South in fisheries subsidies disciplines
Published in SUNS #9388 dated 15 July 2021

Geneva, 14 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) – The chair of the Doha Rules negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills from Colombia, has issued a clarification concerning the two questions posed to trade ministers to address on the proposed disciplines on fisheries subsidies during the virtual meeting on 15 July.

The clarification revealed the underlying intention to not provide effective and appropriate special and differential treatment (S&DT) to developing and least-developed countries as per the mandate set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6 as well as the Buenos Aires ministerial declaration of December 2017, said people familiar with the development.

The UN SDG 14.6 has mandated WTO members to, by 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”.

Scores of international civil society organizations (CSOs) have urged trade ministers to reject the chair’s latest draft text for failing to prohibit subsidies in the overcapacity and overfishing pillar while limiting effective and appropriate special and differential treatment to developing and least-developed countries (see SUNS #9387 dated 14 July 2021).

In the face of growing opposition from CSOs and many WTO members to the draft text as well as the two questions, the chair sent an email to members on 13 July stating that “a number of common issues have been raised by many delegations, and a clarification of these points may help towards a more productive and efficient meeting.”

In his email, Ambassador Wills said that “many Members have sought further elaboration on the two questions that were presented to Ministers for the 15 July meeting, and second, on the third session of the Ministerial meeting that was discussed during the TNC meeting on 25 June.”

The WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the chair wrote a joint letter to trade ministers on 2 July seeking their approval on considering the chair’s draft consolidated text as a further basis for concluding the fisheries subsidies negotiations and for limiting special and differential treatment to the most vulnerable and poorest fishers.

Regarding the two questions for Ministers to consider, the chair clarified, in his email, as follows:

* “On the first question regarding the text, and whether it contains basic elements of the necessary landing zones, and authorizing HoDs [Heads of Delegation] in Geneva, an affirmative answer is not meant to suggest or imply that delegations should accept the draft text in its current form or concede their national positions.

It would simply mean that delegations would agree on the current draft text as a common basis on which they would pursue their positions in seeking amendments, additions and/or deletions.

In this sense, “fully authorize” would mean HoDs would be able to fully engage with those with opposing views based on the draft text, with a common aim of finding landing zones that are acceptable by all Members.

* Likewise, on the second question regarding artisanal fishers, an affirmative answer is not meant to suggest accepting the specific language in the draft text.

Ministers are not expected to address the technical question of how the issue of artisanal fishers could be addressed in terms of the text.

It is also not meant to prejudge delegations’ positions on any other issue, including other provisions relating to special and differential treatment.

A positive step would be for Ministers to conceptually agree that the treatment of artisanal fishers is a key concern for developing Members, which would guide our work on this particular issue.”

The chair’s clarifications have raised more questions about the real intention of hosting this meeting at this juncture when countries are battling hard with the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the DG and the chair are attempting “to put a gloss” on these two issues without addressing the fundamental issues in the draft text, said people familiar with the development.

The chair’s clarification on the first question appears to be contradictory because the chair is asking members to agree on the draft text as a common basis but then he also wants the ministers to instruct their envoys to find the landing zones based on the draft text, said people familiar with the development.

So what is the difference between treating the text as a common basis and deciding the landing zones, said a person, who asked not to be quoted.

The chair is asking for an “affirmative” decision on artisanal fishers and thereby, appears to be running away from addressing the crucial issue of effective and appropriate special and differential treatment for developing and least-developed countries to develop their fishing sector, the person said.

The chair acknowledged that regarding the third session of the ministerial meeting on 15 July where he and the DG are supposed to make their concluding remarks, “a wide range of Members stated that they would have practical difficulties participating this late in the evening Geneva time, particularly as late in the evening in Geneva is very early in the following morning for some time zones.”

“In light of these views, and in line with what delegations said to me during my consultations,” Ambassador Wills said “the Director-General and I would suggest that the final session would be a short summing up of the meeting which I would make on my own responsibility, based on the interventions by Ministers in response to the two questions.”

Subsequently, the DG will make a closing statement on her own responsibility, the chair said, suggesting that “these statements would be distributed shortly after the Ministerial meeting ends.”

However, the DG and the chair remained silent on including the issue of the special carve-outs allegedly being provided to the big subsidizers such as the United States, the European Union, China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Canada among others to continue with their industrial-scale fishing subject to some unverifiable marine management programs, said people familiar with the two questions (see SUNS #9382 dated 7 July 2021).

The DG and the chair repeatedly claimed in their letter to the trade ministers that the proposed disciplines in the chair’s draft text are based on the mandate provided in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.6 and the Buenos Aires ministerial declaration.

However, none of these troubling issues have even been remotely raised in the two questions, said people familiar with the development.