AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES AT WTO

• Recently, Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) was concluded at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting.
• It came into being in 1995.
• The WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.
• Its objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely and predictably.
• It has 164 members
• It is the WTO’s top decision-making body and usually meets every two years.
• All members of the WTO are involved in the MC and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.

Agreement

• It will prohibit subsidies from being provided for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfished stocks.
• The agreement also prohibits providing subsidies for fishing on high seas, which are outside the jurisdiction of coastal countries and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations/ Arrangements.
• Under the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT),Developing Countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been allowed a transition period of two years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
• They will have no obligation to implement disciplines for the specified period.
• No prohibition has been imposed on a WTO Member regarding granting or maintaining subsidy to its vessel or operator as long as it is not carrying out IUU.
• No prohibition on providing subsidies has been imposed for fishing regarding overfished stocks as long as such subsidies are implemented to rebuild the stock to a biologically sustainable level.

Benefits:

• It will eliminate the subsidies granted to fishing vessels or fishing operators engaged in IUU fishing.
• It will check large-scale IUU fishing which deprives coastal countries like India of fisheries resources, thereby significantly impacting the livelihoods of our fishing communities.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT