WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/RL/GEN/138 
1 June 2006 
 
 (06-2630) 
Negotiating Group on Rules Original:   Spanish 
  
 
FISHERIES SUBSIDIES:  SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
 
Paper from Argentina
 
  
 The following communication, dated 31 May 2006, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Argentina.   This is Argentina's first submission on the above-mentioned subject.  Others may follow, 
depending on developmen ts in the negotiations. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Since the Sixth Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, the Negotiating Group on Rules has 
made significant headway with its work on developing  suitable disciplines for fisheries subsidies.  It 
is to be noted that the progress made has been on th e basis of the legal drafts proposed by Members. 
2. Argentina is firmly in favour of stepping up  this work, because the establishment of a broad 
prohibition on trade- and production-distorting subsidies that adversely affect fisheries resources will contribute significantly to restoring fish stocks to sustainable levels before 2015.  This will be in 
keeping with the objectives set at the Johannes burg World Summit on Sustainable Development. 
3. This paper is intended as input to the formul ation of provisions on special and differential 
treatment that are to be incorporated in future disciplines on fisheries subsidies, bearing in mind the 
sector's relevance to the developing and least developed countries ( development dimension ) and the 
need to ensure that fishing does not adversely aff ect the resources and sustainability of the ecosystem 
(environmental dimension ). 
II. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT REGARDING FISHERIES 
SUBSIDIES 
4. Special and differential treatment must be so desi gned as to be consistent with the priorities of 
development, poverty reduction, and ensuring mean s of subsistence and improved food security for 
developing and least developed countries:  in ot her words it must not consist merely of longer 
transition periods or the establishment of statis tical criteria that are unable to accommodate the 
different needs and priorities of the de veloping and least developed countries. 
5. This means that the special and differential tr eatment must be given a flexible and dynamic 
form, avoiding undue restrictions on developing coun tries pursuing their needs but at the same time 
taking into account the international obligations laid down in the United Nations Convention on the 
Law of the Sea (1982) and the standards develope d in the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible TN/RL/GEN/138 
Page 2  
 
  Fisheries (1995), in so far as such countries have  responsibility for ensuring sustainable use of live 
aquatic resources in the interests of environmental conservation. 
6. Special and differential treatment therefore needs to be: 
• Responsible :  in all instances, the granting or maintenance of the subsidies identified 
should be part of a national fisheries management scheme, in keeping with the 
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995). 
 
• Selective :  identification of subsidies – in addition to those available in the 
permissible subsidies category – that are of particular relevance in terms of allowing 
the developing countries to pursue their development needs. 
 
• Limited :  identification of situations which, if  approved, would enable the developing 
Member to grant or maintain some of  the subsidies programmes identified. 
 
• Transparent :  the subsidies programmes identified and the approval of the conditions 
in which they will be implemented shoul d be subject to an improved general 
discipline on notification and transparency. 
 
III. EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSAL 
7. This proposal assumes that the general st ructure of the disciplines is based on the 
establishment of a " prohibition defined by exclusion
" with limited exceptions.   It is therefore 
compatible with the proposals submitted by  New Zealand (TN/RL/GEN/100) and Brazil 
(TN/RL/GEN/79/Rev.2). 
8. There is a broad consensus in the Rules Group th at the sustainability of resources is most at 
risk from subsidies for " fishing vessel construction and mod ernization and gear acquisition ".  It can 
nevertheless be conceded that there may be specific  situations in which a developing country needs to 
resort to such subsidies (e.g. surplus species in it s exclusive economic zone;  high seas quotas 
established by a regional fisheries management orga nization (RFMO);  the Member plans to develop 
a national fleet to replace capacity of a foreign fleet  operating in its exclusiv e economic zone).  This 
proposal allows for a developing country finding itsel f in any of these situati ons to resort to such 
programmes. 
9. It is acknowledged besides that a developing c ountry could find itself in a situation where it 
will need to resort to some kind of subsidy in order to sustain the fishing effort  (e.g. supply of fuel, 
bait or ice or other costs).  It should be borne in  mind however that these subsidies, like subsidies to 
increase capacity, can produce trade distortions and lead to overfishing.  They should therefore be 
allowed only as part of a responsible fisheries plan and should cause no injury to the interests of other 
Members. 
10. Paragraph 9 of Annex D to the Hong Kong D eclaration recognizes Members' shared concern 
that the future discipline should achieve a proper balance between trade and environmental aspects.  
This is why the granting or maintenance of certain fisheries subsidies programmes should be 
contingent on the existence of a national fish eries administration plan that meets recognized 
international standards such as the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995), in order 
to ensure sustainable fishing activities. 
11. We also recognize the contribution that artisanal fishing  makes to food security and the 
means of subsistence of developing countries.  We therefore endorse Brazil's proposed definition 
(TN/RL/GEN/79/Rev.2) of artisanal fishing which lin ks the latter to subsiste nce and distinguishes it  TN/RL/GEN/138 
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  from small scale fishing, as the two refer to different  situations.  We believe that artisanal fishing 
defined in these terms should be without r estrictions for the developing countries. 
12. Any comprehensive discipline for fisheri es subsidies must necessarily envisage government-
to-government payments for access to distant fishing grounds.  Provisions on this point should take 
into account:  (a) the right of coastal countries to charge for access to their fishing grounds in 
accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;  and (b) the income 
contributed by governments to acquire access for a fleet to distant fishing grounds in practice has 
much the same effects as would a subsidy.  We therefore agree with Brazil's idea1 of including in the 
special and differential provisions the right to recei ve payment for access to fishing grounds or other 
rights, along with strict requirements on granting countries so that no adverse effects are produced. 
13. We believe that the disciplines will be fully e ffective only to the extent that there is an 
improved notification procedure and some other m echanism to secure transparency in fisheries 
subsidies2 which covers all fisheries subsidies programmes, including those notified under special and 
differential provisions.  At the same time, account s hould be taken of the special needs of the least 
developing countries through greater flexibility, and of the fact that some developing countries may 
need technical assistance if they are to comp ly properly with notification requirements. 
                                                      
1 Articles 7.1(ii)9 and 4.4 of Brazil's paper (TN/RL/GEN/79/Rev.2). 
2 Argentina views positively the United States' proposal in TN/RL/GEN/127 to establish a mechanism 
to review disciplines on fisheries subsidies.  The possibility of a broad system for review and improving 
transparency could be envisaged. TN/RL/GEN/138 
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  IV. PROPOSED LEGAL DRAFT:   
Article X
3 
 
Special and Differential Treatment  
 
X.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of Article xxx,  developing country Members shall be allowed 
to maintain or grant the following fisheries subsidies:  
(a) For fishing vessel construction, repair or modernization;  and/or gear acquisition or 
improvement
4; 
  provided that their purpose is:   
 
(i) to increase the Member's fleet capacit y to cover the fishing of surplus 
species5 in its Exclusive Economic Zone;  or 
(ii) to replace foreign vessels operating in its Exclusive Economic Zone without 
increasing current fishing capacity;  or 
(iii) to fill high seas fishing quotas established by a regional fisheries management 
organization. 
(b) Subsidies to support the operation of fishing fleets (e.g.  supply of fuel, bait or ice), in 
so far as they cause no serious prejudice to another Member within the meaning of Article 6.3 of the Agreement on S ubsidies and Countervailing Measures. 
(c) Subsidies to artisanal fisheries.
6 
X.2 For the subsidies referred to in (a) above, the granting Member shall ensure that every fishing 
vessel constructed or modernized possesses a valid fishing licence and is registered under a national 
registration system.  
X.3 Members granting or maintaining subsidy pr ogrammes covered by (a) and (b) of X.1 above, 
shall have a national fisheries management system  in keeping with the FAO Code of Conduct for 
Responsible Fisheries, 1995.  
                                                     
 
3 This legal draft is intended as part of a general framework of disciplines based on the principle of a 
"broad prohibition defined by exclusion" which is in balance with exceptions and transitional provisions. 
4 The reference to "gear improvement" does not include the improvement of gear used in order to 
comply with environmental standards as this should be included in the category of permissible subsidies, which 
all Members may apply. 
5 For the purposes of this subparagraph "surplus sp ecies" shall mean species in respect of which the 
catch capacity of the fleet fishing in an EEZ is insuffic ient to cover the maximum allowable catch for the species 
in question, determined in accordance with Articles 61 and 62 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 
6 Argentina shares Brazil's idea set out in TN/RL/GEN/ 79/Rev.2 that artisanal fishing should comprise 
the fishing activities related to the subsistence of the fisherman and his family.  That is to say, activities performed at an in-shore basis with non-automatic net -retriever devices, provided that (a) the activities are 
carried out on an individual basis, incl uding, but not necessarily, the family members;  (b) the basic scope of the 
activities encompasses both family livelihood and a small profit trade;  (c) there is no employer-employee 
relationship in the activities carried out.  Conditions (a), (b) and (c) will likewise apply in the case of subsidies 
to fishers' associations.  TN/RL/GEN/138 
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  X.4 Payments or other financial transfers received in direct or indirect exchange for access by 
foreign vessels to fishing resources of the devel oping country's EEZ or any other rights established by 
a regional fisheries management organization shal l be exempt from the prohibition laid down in 
Article XX.7 
 
X.5 The subsidy programmes referred to in X.1 a bove shall be subject to compliance with the 
provisions on notification and transparency in Article XX.8 
 
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7 This provision should be complementary to the inclusion of such payments or transfers in the 
actionable subsidies category, as in Articles 7.1(ii) and 4.4 of Brazil's paper (TN/RL/GEN/79/Rev.2). 
8 Additional flexibilities may be provided for in the case of subsidies granted by least developed 
countries.  Provision should also be made for technical assistance to developing countries that need it in order to 
comply with the provisions on notification.