Summing up the discussions, Ambassador Wayne McCook of Jamaica, the chairman of the NGR, said it was clear a number of different views were expressed.  Many members, he said, reiterated their reliance on Target 14.6 of the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which commits governments, by 2020, to prohibiting certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and refrain from introducing new such subsidies.

Other members, Amb. McCook said, raised the question of balance in the rules negotiations, i.e. the need to ensure that progress on fisheries subsidies goes hand in hand with progress on other issues under negotiation (anti-dumping, horizontal subsidies, and regional trade agreements). Some raised the issue of effective special and differential (S&D) treatment provisions for developing and least developed countries (LDCs) in an eventual fisheries agreement.  One delegation, the chairman said, suggested members adopt the flexible approach used in the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement in the discussions on fisheries subsidies.

Amb. McCook stressed that the negotiations would be based on a “bottom-up” approach.  “Nothing will be done deus ex machina, there will be no intervention from the chair, any initiatives will have to come from members,” he declared.

Discussions centre on New Zealand questions

The discussions at the 29 June NGR focused on a paper circulated at the negotiating group’s previous meeting by New Zealand and five other co-sponsors (Colombia, Iceland, Norway, Pakistan, and Uruguay). The paper posed a series of questions with a view to sharing information on members’ fisheries subsidies policies as a background for further discussions on fisheries subsidies disciplines aimed at achieving the SDG Target 14.6 goals by 2020.

A number of delegations intervened on the factual questions posed in the paper regarding fisheries subsidies and fisheries policies. Concerning the 5th question in the paper, on  how the NGR process going forward might be structured best to establish fisheries subsidies disciplines to achieve Target 14.6, nearly 30 delegations took the floor on this question, with the interventions generally breaking down as follows:

Support for achieving an agreement on fisheries subsidies in line with the Target 14.6 goals by the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2017

Many delegations intervening said that the WTO was mandated by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York last September to come up with an agreement to prohibit and eliminate fisheries subsidies that contribute to overfishing, overcapacity and illegal fishing by 2020.  Given this tight deadline, it was important that WTO members reach a multilateral agreement soon to achieve this, with some citing the need for a deal by the next ministerial conference in 2017. 

Need for balance in the rules negotiations

Several countries affirmed their readiness to engage in negotiations on fisheries subsidies but stressed that progress in this area must be accompanied by progress on other issues under negotiations. 

Need for effective S&D treatment

A number of developing and LDC countries stressed that any agreement on fisheries subsidies must include effective S&D treatment provisions, given the importance of the fisheries sector in their economies, the vulnerability of their small-scale fishing fleets, and the need to ensure food security.  Some also stressed the need for capacity-building and other technical assistance to help in implementation. 

Need to consider other fora, structures for the fisheries negotiations

Two members said that it was important to avoid approaches that have proved divisive in the past and look for innovative ways, including outside the NGR, to achieve a result that can address the pressing global problem of over-depleted fisheries stocks.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership as a model?

Three members noted that the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement contains provisions related to fisheries subsidies, in particular a commitment to reduce and eventually eliminate all subsidies that contribute to overfishing, overcapacity and illegal fishing.  TPP parties also agree to restrain new subsidy programs and enhancements to existing fisheries subsidy programs, and enhanced transparency requirements related to such programs.  These members considered that the TPP could serve as an inspiration or a possible basis for future discussions on the issue.

Further background on the WTO rules negotiations and previous news items on the talks are available here.