·
Negotiations
reviewed: The WTO Negotiating Group on Rules
met on 8 July
to review progress in negotiations on additional disciplines for fisheries subsidies.
·
Chair's
update: Chair
Leslie Ramsammy
reported active and constructive participation by WTO members in recent
information and thematic sessions held since the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).
·
Objective
of negotiations: The
negotiations seek to develop comprehensive
disciplines on fisheries subsidies to strengthen ocean sustainability, as
mandated under the WTO
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies adopted at MC12 (2022).
·
MC14
mandate: At MC14 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, WTO
members agreed to continue negotiations and make recommendations for
consideration at the 15th
WTO Ministerial Conference (MC15).
·
Three
post-MC14 sessions held:
o May: Information session reviewing the history
and major milestones of fisheries subsidies negotiations since their launch in 2001, with presentations
by former Chairs.
o June: Experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WTO
Secretariat presented updated data on global fisheries and fisheries subsidies.
o 2 July: Indonesia led a thematic discussion on
ensuring coherence between the draft fisheries subsidies provisions and the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS).
·
'Fish
Weeks' announced: The
Chair announced plans to organise three
"Fish Weeks" by the end of 2027 to:
o Review negotiating progress.
o Exchange members' views.
o Advance discussions on additional
fisheries subsidies disciplines.
·
First
Fish Week: The
inaugural Fish Week
will be held from 21–25
September 2026.
·
Focus
of first Fish Week:
Members will identify elements of progress achieved since MC12 that can serve as
the basis for the next phase of negotiations.
·
Collaborative
approach:
Ambassador Ramsammy stressed that the current stage is intended for:
o Brainstorming.
o Open exchanges of views.
o Building common ground.
o Preparing for eventual conclusion of
negotiations, rather than taking formal decisions.
·
Overall
significance: The
initiative is designed to maintain negotiating momentum and facilitate
consensus-building toward stronger global rules on fisheries subsidies that
support sustainable
fisheries and ocean conservation.
At
a meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules held on 8 July, the Chair, Ambassador
Leslie Ramsammy of Guyana, reported on WTO members' active participation and constructive
engagement in three information and thematic sessions on fisheries subsidies negotiations
held since the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14). He announced his intention to
organize three Fish Weeks by the end of 2027, during which members will report on
progress made in the negotiations and exchange views in thematic sessions.
In
the Ministerial Decision on Fisheries Subsidies adopted at MC14 in March in Yaoundé,
Cameroon, members agreed to continue to engage constructively in negotiations with
a view to making recommendations to the 15th WTO Ministerial Conference. Mandated
by the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which was adopted at the 12th Ministerial
Conference (MC12) in 2022, these negotiations aim to further strengthen the objective
of ocean sustainability by developing comprehensive disciplines on fisheries subsidies.
As
part of that work, members have participated in three information and thematic sessions
since MC14. In the first information session, held in May, speakers, including past
Chairs of the Negotiating Group on Rules, shared perspectives on key milestones
in the history of the negotiations on fisheries subsidies since they were launched
in 2001. A second information session was held in June, at which experts from the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WTO Secretariat presented
recent data on global fisheries and fisheries subsidies. At the third thematic session,
held on 2 July, Indonesia presented its views and exchanged with members on institutional
coherence between the draft additional provisions on fisheries subsidies and the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Ambassador
Ramsammy announced his intention to organize three "Fish Weeks" by the
end of 2027. These will offer an opportunity to explore members' views on how to
advance the negotiations on the additional provisions on fisheries subsidies. These
discussions will build on the progress made since MC12, in accordance with the MC14
Ministerial Decision. During the first "Fish Week", to be held from 21
to 25 September 2026, members will be asked to identify what progress made since
MC12 could form the basis for continued negotiations.
Ambassador
Ramsammy said: "I would like to underline that, at this juncture, our focus
should be on taking a first step in a process that should, in due course, lead us
towards the conclusion of our negotiations. This is not the moment for decision-making.
Rather, it is an opportunity for members to brainstorm together and engage in genuine
exchanges aimed at establishing some common ground to guide our work going forward."