Revised fisheries draft: WTO draft snubs India’s transition period proposal

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) has issued a revised draft text of the fisheries subsidies agreement. However, India has said that the text still remains “unbalanced”.

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What are the objections India has over the WTO draft text on fisheries subsidies?

Source: Economic Times

Firstly, the draft text has suggested a threshold of 0.7% for a country’s share of global fishing up to which it would be exempted from subsidy cuts. However, India accounts for higher than the suggested threshold at about 4% of global fishing at 3.8 million tonnes annually.

Secondly, it does not specify the transition period of 25 years for exempting some developing countries from subsidy cuts, as proposed by India.

Thirdly, India has suggested that those countries which are engaged in the distant water fishing and beyond their natural geographic area should stop giving subsidies for 25 years in fishing areas beyond their exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles). However, the draft text does not specify that.

Source: This post is based on the article “Revised fisheries draft: WTO draft snubs India’s transition period proposal” published in Business Standard on 9th November 2021.