EU Accepts WTO Deal on Fisheries Subsidies
The European Union has formally accepted the historic WTO Agreement on Fisheries, which aims to ban subsidies that encourage overfishing and threaten the sustainability of fish stocks worldwide. By aligning with this commitment, the EU joins a handful of other countries, like the United States, Canada, and Switzerland.
The European Union has approved a World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement banning harmful fisheries subsidies, joining a handful of other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Switzerland.
“On 25 May 2023, the Council adopted a decision approving, on behalf of the EU, the conclusion of a WTO protocol establishing a fisheries subsidy agreement,” the European Council said in a press release.
After more than two decades of negotiations aimed at banning subsidies that encourage overfishing and threaten the sustainability of fish stocks worldwide, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was adopted at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva last June.
The accord sets “new binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of world’s fish stocks” and further dives into subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, with a 2-year exemption for developing countries within their exclusive economic zones, or 200 nautical miles.
For the historic agreement to become operational, two-thirds of the WTO’s 164 members must deposit their “instruments of acceptance” with the WTO. Members also agreed at the ministerial conference to continue negotiations on outstanding issues, with a view to making recommendations by the next conference for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the agreement.
The United States accepted the agreement in April, and Canada and the United Arab Emirates followed suit in May. Iceland, Seychelles, Singapore, and Switzerland have also formally accepted the deal. And on June 27, China also ratified the accord.
“This is a very positive step for sustainable development and a very positive step forward by the EU. I really hope that more WTO members will follow,” Swedish Trade Minister Johan Forssell told reporters in Brussels, according to Agence France Presse.
You might also be interested in
IISD Annual Report 2022–2023
At IISD, we’ve been working for more than three decades to create a world where people and the planet thrive. As the climate crisis unfolds on our doorsteps and irreversible tipping points loom, our team has been focused more than ever on impact.
At WTO meet, India will have to balance between protecting local fishers and fishing sector growth
India is likely to advocate for securing the interests of its artisanal fishers while facilitating the growth of the fishing sector at the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi later this month.
ISDS regime could choke climate action in emerging economies, experts say
The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system could be putting climate action at risk in emerging and developing economies as investors in fossil fuel projects angle for compensation, experts say.
Africa's Biggest Oil and Gas Finds Are Doing Little for Economies at Home
Domestic markets across the continent are no match for the lucrative ones beyond its borders.