Abu Dhabi: The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was formally accepted by South Africa, according to a statement released by the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the 13th Ministerial Conference’s concluding session in Abu Dhabi.
With this acceptance, the pact now has official approval from 71 WTO members; 39 more approvals are required for the pact to go into effect.
Adopted during the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) on June 17, 2022, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies forbids detrimental fisheries subsidies, which are a major contributing factor to the global depletion of fish populations. This represents a significant advancement for ocean sustainability.
As the first fully achieved Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target, the first SDG target achieved through a multilateral agreement, the first environment-focused WTO agreement, the first comprehensive, legally binding multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability, and only the second agreement reached at the WTO since its founding, the Agreement represents a historic achievement for the membership.
The MC12 also approved an extension to the TRIPS Waiver allowing developing nations to boost their capacity to produce vaccines against COVID-19 and other pandemics.
One of the main goals of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference was to make the decision. Since 90 percent of non-tariff trade obstacles are caused by intellectual property rules, the ruling will have a major positive impact on the least developed nations.
New regulations on local service regulation were included in the Ministerial Conference’s final declaration. These regulations will save trade costs by billions of dollars globally.
The statement issued by the WTO Ministerial Conference also confirmed that attempts to reform the Dispute Settlement System (DSS) will continue. By the end of 2024, this reform hopes to have established a system that is all-inclusive, efficient, and easily accessible to all members. In order to do this, the statement highlights the necessity of having open, honest, and inclusive dialogues to build on the achievements made thus far and tackle any obstacles still standing, especially those pertaining to the Appellate Body.
The WTC member nations also decided to prolong the tariff embargo on online sales until the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in 2026. The meeting, which focused on intensive talks on several important topics affecting the future of global trade, achieved a great deal with its resolution.