‘East is East and West is West and ne’er the twain shall meet’
07 November 2004
The WTO negotiating group on rules, met from September 28 th to 30 th 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting continued the negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies, where the main new proposal came from Japan.
The Japanese proposal argues that the clarification of WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies should contribute to the achievement of both proper management of fisheries resources and the promotion of trade in fishery products. It therefore advocates that the classification of permitted fisheries subsidies (?green box?) be based on the principle of the "conservation and sustainable utilisation of fisheries resource?. Illegal (?red box?) subsidies would relate to IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fisheries, and fishing-vessels engaging in poorly managed fisheries. It argues that the latter are against the conservation and sustainable utilisation of fisheries resources and encourage fishing activities that exacerbate the status of the resources.
In addition, Japan proposes that "general subsidies outside of the fisheries subsidie "should be permitted. These would be subsidies for activities aimed at the socio-economic stability and development of local communities, which do not have any direct relation to the conservation and sustainable utilisation of fisheries resources. As such, they should not be considered as fisheries subsidies.
The next WTO rules meeting is scheduled for November 1 st to 3 rd 2004.
Editorial comment
The recent discussions on fisheries subsidies in the WTO negotiating group on rules were dominated by wrangling between rival world fishing powers. Scant consideration was given to the pressing issue of "special and differential treatmen "tor developing countries. Previous optimism that the various parties were beginning to roll up their sleeves and get down to serious negotiations, and away from their initial posturing, now seems premature.
Likewise ACP countries have not established their requirements for SDT, a pre-requisite for serious negotiations. Although the SDT issue continues to be highlighted, there has yet to be a serious discussion about what this will mean in practice.
At the June round of negotiations on WTO rules (June 7 th to 8 th 2004), the reversal of Japan?s previous position on subsidies was hailed as a positive step forward, albeit with some reservations. The shifting of its position seemed to indicate a major step forward in what had been intractably polarised discussions.
However, following the latest round of WTO discussions, it is clear that there is still some way to go before serious negotiations can take place.