TN/RL/GEN/183  
 
29 November  2016 
(16-6547) Page: 1/3 
Negotiating Group on Rules  Original: English  
 
WTO FISHERIES SUBSID IES 
A FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE  THE MULTILATERAL NEGOTIA TIONS  
TO ELIMINATE HARMFUL  FISHERIES SUBSIDIES  
The following communication, dated 28  November 2016 , is being ci rculated at the request of the 
delegations of Argentina, Colombia, Costa Ric a, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.  
 
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The objective of this document is to present a framework to guide the multilateral negotiations to 
the elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies. To that effect, this contribution will show how the 
Trade Fa cilitation Agreement (TFA) approach could be used as a reference and adapted to the 
Fisheries Subsidies negotiations.  
 
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  In recent  years, a growing consensus within the international community has been emerging 
on the need to act to prevent the harmful impacts of certain fisheries subsidies on sustainability of 
marine resources. That understanding was reflected in Paragraph 173 of the outcome document of 
the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, 'The future we want '1 and in the 
recent multilateral mandate of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United 
Nations , in which Heads of State and Government agreed on the Sustainable Development Goal s 
(SDGs) 14.6. This goal  encompasses a specific target:   
"By 2020, prohibit cer tain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity 
and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and 
unregulated fishing (IUU) and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, 
recognizing that appropriate and e ffective special and differential treatment for 
developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World 
Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation. "2 
Furthermore, last July at the UNCTAD XIV Conference, 91 United Nations Me mbers joined a Joint 
Declaration3 by the UNCTAD, FAO and the UNEP. In this Declaration, these International 
Organizations have expressed that they stand ready to support international efforts to achieve the 
SDGs and have identified minimum outcomes that co uld contribute to the members ' efforts to 
meet Target 14.6. In addition, they  made an international call to member States and the 
international community to move forward and deliver on SDG s 14.  
 
1.2.  We stro ngly believe that fulfilling tho se goals o n fisheries  subsidies will be the most relevant 
WTO contribution to trade and environment , representing at the same time an important 
contribution to  food security and development.  In the same line, at the X WTO Ministerial 
Conference a group of Members issued a Ministerial statement4 aimed at reinvigorate work in the 
                                                
1 "The Future we want ". Outcome document of the 2012 United Nations Conference on  Sustainable 
Development.  A/RES/66/288. http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/66/288&Lang=E.  
2 http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&referer=/english/&Lang=E . 
3 UNCTAD, UNEP, FAO Joint Statement "Regulating Fisheries S ubsidies must be an integral part of the 
implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda ", Nairobi, July 2016.  
http://unctad.org/meetings/en/SessionalDocuments/U14ditc_d16_FishSub_Statement_en.pdf . 
4 WT/MIN(15)/37/Rev.1 . https://www.wto.org/engli sh/thewto_e/minist_e/mc9_e/official_docs_e.htm . TN/RL/GEN/183  
 
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  WTO with the goal of eliminating all subsidies that contribute to overfishing  and overcapacity and 
enhancing transparency.  In that occasion, and as part of that work, they committed themselves 
not to pro vide subsidies  (a) for fishing that negatively affect overfished fish stocks; and  or (b) to 
vessels or operators engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated . Besides, these Members 
mentioned that they will continue to seek appropriate enhanced WTO trans parency and, 
particularly, the recognition  that special and differential treatment is integral to the work on any 
new disciplines  but must be app ropriate in order not to undermine their effectiveness.  
1.3.  Moreover, at the X Ministerial Conference a relevant nu mber of WTO Members submitted a 
Draft Decision towards an agreement on th ese issues, namely the proposal contained in document 
WT/MIN/(15)/W/40, by the ACP Group and Peru. In accordance with the high interest on this 
matter, this issue was discussed by the  Ministers of Trade during the MC10.  
1.4.  In the post -Nairobi framework, some Members introduced ideas which could be taken as a 
basis for future work with a view of including substantive results on fisheries subsidies at the XI 
WTO Ministerial Conference. Building upon these ideas, as well as the previous work carried out in 
the WTO, co-sponsors  submit this document containing elements for the establishment of 
ambitious and effective disciplines on fisheries subsidies . 
1.5.  In September, 2016, some Members have laun ched an initiative with the goal of prohibiting 
subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, including subsidies linked to illegal, 
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and strengthening its reporting and transparency. Its 
objective is to  work with each other and with link -minded WTO Members to conclude an ambitious 
high standard agreement, while at the same time working with all WTO Members to advance this 
issue multilaterally, under the believing that this initiative will help achieving Target 14.6.  
2  THE MULTILATERAL NEG OTIATIONS ON FISHERI ES SUBSIDIES   
2.1.  The Trade Facilitation approach can result in a useful tool for the Fisheries Subsidies ' 
negotiations. Such a scheme has been accepted by all WTO Members and has allowed them to 
deliver a multilateral outcome recently. Its structure can be adapted to  the particularities of  these 
negotiations, serving as a practical tool.  
2.1  The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) approach  
2.2.  The TFA has three sections. Section I, contains provisions on the core a reas. Section II 
contains special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions that allow developing and least -
developed countries (LDCs) to determine when they will implement individual provisions of the 
Agreement and to identify provisions that they will  only be able to implement upon the receipt of 
technical assistance and support for capacity building. Section III refers to the Institutional 
Arrangements.  
2.3.  To benefit from SDT, a member must categorize each provision of the Agreement (Categories 
A, B and C), and notify other WTO members of these categorizations in accordance with specific 
timelines outlined in the Agreement.  
2.2  How to adapt this approach to the Fisheries Subsidies'  negotiations  
2.4.  Through the SDG 14.6, our Heads of State and Government gave to W TO Members a specific 
mandate to negotiate this issue on its own merits, without linking its process to any other WTO 
negotiation. Therefore this should be a standalone Agreement, as the TFA, in which all Members 
should agree on definitions, disciplines an d timelines. As a complement, rules should be 
established aiming at:  
 Ensuring the appropr iate enforcement of disciplines;  
 Exploring cooperatio n between competent authorities;  
 Identifying cases in which flexibilities (S&DT) should be given to fulfil the com mitments 
included in the Agreement.  TN/RL/GEN/183  
 
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  2.3  Multilateral Disciplines on Fisheries Subsidies: The framework of the negotiations (a 
TFA type approach)  
Scope  As defined in the SDG 14.6, general disciplines will be established to:  
 
(i) Eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated 
fishing;  
(ii) Prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overfishing;  
(iii) Prohibit certain forms of subsidies which contribute to overcapacity.   
 
As stated in the SDG 14.6, flexibilities (Categories B an d C) will have to be 
negotiated and will be given only to developing and least developing countries.  
Category A   
(To be implemented 
by the time the 
Agreement enters 
into force)  General disciplines referred above (i, ii, iii) shall enter into force no lat er than 2020.  
Category B  
(To be implemented  
after a transitional 
period following the 
entry into force of 
the Agreement)  Only in the cases where certain conditions have been agreed by Members, a limited 
period of time will be given in order to implement  the general disciplines  (ii) and (iii).  
Category C  
(Capacity building)  In addition to the transitional period indicated in the Category B, and with a view to 
effectively implement the commitments in the Agreement , a scheme of cooperation 
should be consi dered to help Members to acquire capacity building in the form of 
technical assistance.  
This scheme could include bilateral and regional cooperation as well as technical 
assistance from relevant international organizations.  
Transparency  To provide furth er transparency the agreement shall contain certain extended 
notification schemes that may go beyond the SCM Agreement.  
Stand Still  Taking into account that SDG 14.6 states "refrain from introducing new such 
subsidies", a standstill clause shall be part o f the negotiations.  
Definitions  There will be a need to define, among others, the following terms:  
(i) Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU);  
(ii) Overfishing;  
(iii) Overcapacity;  
(iv) Artisanal Fisheries.  
Dispute Settlement  Dispute Settlement Understanding (WTO)  
Institutional 
Arrangements  Authorities at the national level with the responsibility of providing additional 
information or to implement the commitments of Members. Need to designate a 
central authority or a focal point.  
Advisory 
Mechanism (AM) 
during the 
multilateral 
negotiations  Being a cross -cutting issue with direct and indirect effects, on commerce and 
environmental sustainability, it will be very useful to consider the establishment of 
an Advisory Mechanism (AM) with the participation of Inter national Organizations 
such as FAO, UNCTAD and UNEP.  
 
The role of the Advisory Mechanism would be to assist Members, upon request, 
either individually or collectively, regarding all technical issues that may help the 
negotiations.  
Timetable  These commitm ents should be established by MC11 and implemented by 2020, 
according to the SDG's (14.6 goal)  
 
3  THE WAY FORWARD  
3.1.  Co-sponsors remain  open to engage in consultations in different formats in order to work on 
the basis of this communication as well as other co ntributions by Members, as we consider that 
there is ample room to make progress with a view to achieve successful results at the next WTO 
Ministerial Conference.  
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