PHL wants to hasten WTO talks on fishing rules
THE Philippines is pushing for the immediate conclusion of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on fisheries subsidies amid declining global fish stocks.
In a recent virtual WTO ministerial meeting, top officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) have enjoined their fellow agriculture and trade ministers to hasten negotiations to finalize new disciplines that will eliminate subsidies which contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished stocks, and overcapacity and overfishing.
“The Philippines stands together with other WTO member-countries who are committed to deliver an outcome in the fisheries subsidy negotiations ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in December this year,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said. “This will only be possible if there is solid political will and diplomatic flexibility in the negotiations.”
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said “the current draft text of the agreement contains a carve-out that if a prohibited subsidy occurs in disputed waters, it will not be addressed by a WTO panel, as this will provide a loophole for countries involved in maritime disputes to be exempted from the disciplines.”
With this, Dar urged the members to “reconsider the current language.”
“Issues of territorial claims or delimitation of maritime boundaries or zones are of the highest concern for the Philippines, but nothing must prohibit a duly constituted panel from hearing a case.”
Dar also noted that the “flexibility and exemptions for poor and vulnerable artisanal fishers in developing countries and leastdeveloped countries should not create a permanent exception from effective disciplines to address overcapacity and overfishing.”
Based on the latest data from United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the depleting fish stocks can worsen poverty and endanger coastal communities that rely on fishing.
The UN agency said one-third of the global fish stocks were overfished, an increase from 10 percent in 1970 and 27 percent in 2000.
The WTO noted that negotiations on the matter have been ongoing for about two decades already. One of the “thorniest issues” it must resolve concerns the setting provision of special and differential treatment to developing and least developed countries while ensuring sustainability of the oceans.
“One fundamental conclusion that I draw from your interventions today is that members are ready to use the text as the basis for future negotiations. A second takeaway from today was that there is universal agreement about the importance of the food and livelihood security of artisanal fishers in developing and least developed countries,” WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-iweala said.