Japan Questions Negative Impact Of Fisheries Subsidies At WTO

At an 8 July meeting of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules, Members continued discussions on the clarification and improvement of WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies, with three new papers submitted by China, Japan and New Zealand. The debate largely focused on Japan's communication, in which the country rejected the reasoning of the so-called 'Friends of Fish' group that had previously called for special disciplines on fisheries subsidies. "Those who insist on special and separate treatment of fisheries subsidies have a burden of proof to fulfil," Japan stated in its position paper.

Japan resists special disciplines for fisheries subsidies

In its paper (TN/RL/W/11), which was broadly supported by Korea, Japan stressed that trade distortions caused by subsidies were not limited to the fisheries sector, and that it could not agree to the claim of the 'Friends of Fish' -- Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Iceland, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines and the US -- that special disciplines for fisheries subsidies were required (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 16 May 2002). Based on figures from studies undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Japan also disputed claims by the 'Friends of Fish' group that global expenditures of USD 14-20.5 billion in fisheries subsidies had led to adverse impacts on resources or distorted trade (according to a report commissioned by the World Bank).

Stating that overexploitation of fish stocks was "largely due to lack of proper fisheries management," Japan furthermore said that management of fish stocks should be left to the coastal states, the regional fisheries bodies and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As a last point, Japan proposed that Members should await the results of work done by relevant international organisations such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the OECD in order to "appropriately deal with the complex nature of the fisheries subsidies issue".

In response, the US highlighted that the APEC study cited by Japan pointed to USD 8.3 billion of trade-distortive subsidies instead of USD 370 million. Other trade sources further commented that only 35 percent of OECD fisheries subsidies were not likely to affect fisheries resources or trade negatively, rather than 70 percent as cited by Japan. For its part, the EC shared Japan's concern about adopting a sectoral approach in the subsidies negotiations, and fully agreed -- along with Canada -- that the WTO should draw from the work of other international agencies. Also, both Canada and the EC stressed the importance of sound fisheries management. The US and Argentina countered, however, that this consideration was no excuse for delaying the ongoing discussions on fisheries subsidies at the WTO.

China emphasises S&D

Pointing to the Doha mandate, WTO newcomer China stressed in its proposal (TN/RL/W/9) the need to accord special and differential treatment (S&D) in fisheries to developing countries. It also suggested that certain fisheries subsidies should be defined as "non-actionable", namely those that do not have a detrimental effect on the environment, trade and sustainable development. Several developing countries, including Indonesia, Brazil and the Philippines, supported China's proposal on S&D, whereas Japan and Korea said that S&D was a generic issue to be discussed under the general subsidies heading. Indonesia added that fisheries were often the only source of income in many rural areas, and that it would not agree to limit governments' role in rural development and the preservation of marine resources.

Background

At the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November last year, Members agreed to conduct negotiations on clarifying and improving WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies "in the context of" negotiations on 'WTO Rules' (i.e. anti-dumping, subsidies and regional trade agreements). Reference to negotiations on fisheries subsidies is also included in the Trade and Environment section (para. 31) of the Doha Declaration. The decision to include fisheries subsidies as a separate negotiating item marks a significant change from the previous WTO mandate that had restricted discussions on this issue to the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), which prior to Doha did not function as a negotiating forum. Fisheries subsidies are being discussed as a sub-item under the general "subsidies" topic in the Group on Rules, which was established at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in November last year as one of seven negotiating bodies (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 7 March 2002).

Additional Resources

"Study Into the Nature and Extent of Subsidies in the Fisheries Sector of APEC Members Economies," APEC, 2000.

"Fisheries Subsidies and Overfishing: Towards a Structured Discussion", Gareth Porter, UNEP, 2001.

"Subsidies in World Fisheries: A Re-examination", World Bank Technical Paper 406, 1998; searchable online.

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