Trade experts and members of civil society have raised concerns over India’s potential ratification of the fisheries subsidies agreement negotiated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) members in Geneva last year. Instead, they are urging the Indian government to initiate talks for a more comprehensive pact.
The WTO members, based in Geneva, achieved a ‘Geneva Package’ on June 17, 2022, which included agreements addressing harmful fishing subsidies and temporary patent waivers for COVID-19 vaccine production.
The finalized fisheries agreement would require developed countries engaged in distant water fishing to cease providing subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities. However, discussions are ongoing regarding other aspects of the agreement, including overfishing and overcapacity.
In a letter addressed to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, a coalition of civil society organizations, trade unions, and NGOs expressed their opposition to India’s ratification of what they consider an “unequal agreement.” They propose that India initiates discussions on a comprehensive agreement already mandated, particularly focusing on disciplines for industrial fishing nations, addressing overcapacity and overfishing under Article 5.
To bring the agreement into effect, it requires acceptance from two-thirds of WTO members, with over 10 countries having ratified it thus far. India has not yet ratified the pact, and the letter highlights that there is still time for developing countries, including India, to work together to prevent its implementation.
The letter alleges that developed countries, with their large industrial fishing fleets, have consistently pushed for increased market access in the developing world. The majority of fisheries subsidies globally are provided to industrial fishing, primarily in Europe and North America, which has contributed to resource depletion through overfishing.
Developing countries have repeatedly called for restrictions on the large industrial fleets of developed nations, but such demands have gone unheeded. The letter also points out that developing countries like India have sought discipline on non-specific fuel subsidies, which are commonly used by developed countries to subsidize their fishing fleets, but these demands were rejected during negotiations.
Moreover, the letter emphasizes the significant disparity between total subsidies and per-fisher subsidies when comparing developed and developing countries, a discrepancy not acknowledged by the WTO agreement.
The signatories of the letter include prominent organizations such as the National Fishworkers Forum, National Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers, All India Fishers and Fisheries Workers’ Federation, All India Union of Forest Working People, and individuals like Biswajit Dhar, Distinguished Professor at the Council for Social Development in Delhi, and Bharat Patel, General Secretary of Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti (MASS) in Gujarat.