WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/RL/GEN/100 
3 March 2006 
 
 (06-0932) 
Negotiating Group on Rules 
 Original:   English 
 
 
FISHERIES SUBSIDIES 
FRAMEWORK FOR DISCPLINES 
 
Paper from New Zealand  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 2 March 2006, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of New Zealand.  
The submitting delegation has requested that th is paper, which was submitted to the Rules 
Negotiating Group as an informal document (JOB(06)/38), also be circulated as a formal document. 
 
_______________ 
 
  New Zealand submits the attached paper as a contribution to the fisheries subsidies 
negotiations, in keeping with the timeline foreshadow ed by the Director-General in JOB (06)/13 for 
proposals by March in the form of legal drafting.     This contribution to the fisheries subsidies ne gotiations builds on previous submissions.  In 
particular, New Zealand’s paper in April 2004,  TN/RL/W/154, called for a broad prohibition on 
fisheries subsidies while recognizing the need for balance with exceptions, transitional provisions and 
special and differential treatment for developing count ries.  A further paper put forward in November 
2004, TN/RL/W/166, discussed key principles in designing an approach to a broad prohibition on fisheries subsidies disciplines: simplicity and en forceability; transparency; and flexibility.   
  New Zealand looks forward to discussing this pr oposal with other interested delegations, and 
would expect to further refine and expand on this proposal in light of this debate. 
  TN/RL/GEN/100 
Page 2  
 
   
New Disciplines on Fisheries Subsidies: Pr oposed Amendments to the Agreement  
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures 
 
Article 3 bis 
Prohibited Fisheries Subsidies 
 
1. Except as provided for in Article 27 bis and Annex VIII of this  Agreement, subsidies
1 within 
the meaning of Article 1 of this Agreement that confer a benefit2 directly or indirectly on any natural 
or legal person engaged in the harvesting, processing,  transport, marketing or sale of the fish and 
fisheries products listed in Annex IX  of this Agreement (“fisheries subsidies”) shall be prohibited.  
 
Article 25  bis 
Enhanced Notification Requirements for Fisheries Subsidies 
 [Procedures for notification requirements for non-pr ohibited (Annex VIII) fisheries subsidies will be 
developed.]  
 
Article 27 bis 
Special & Differential Treatm ent for Fisheries Subsidies 
 1. The prohibition of Article 3 bis shall not apply to fisheries subsidies provided by a developing 
country Member where such subsidies do not exceed the de minimis level for that Member.  
 [To be elaborated, including the possibility of further flexibilities for LDCs.]  
 
Article 28  bis 
Existing Fisheries Subsidies Programmes 
 
1. Fisheries subsidies which have been established within the territory of any Member before the 
date on which Article 3 bis comes into force and which are inconsistent with that Article shall be: 
 
(a) notified to the Committee no later than one  year after the date that Article 3 bis comes 
into force; and 
 (b) brought into conformity with Article 3 bis within three years of the date that Article 3 bis 
comes into force and until then shall not be subject to Part II.      
 
 
                                                     
 
1 We note that Article 1.2 of the ASCM provides th at a subsidy shall be subject to the provisions of 
Part II only if such a subsidy is sp ecific in accordance with the provisions of Article 2.  New Zealand continues 
to be concerned that some generally available (non-speci fic) subsidies could directly contribute to overcapacity 
and overfishing, for example a generally available fuel subsidy.  We look forward to discussing textual options for addressing this concern.    
2 The term benefit is used here in the sens e of Article 1.1(b) of  this Agreement.   TN/RL/GEN/100 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
ANNEX VIII 
 
Exhaustive List of Non-Prohibited Fisheries Subsidies  
 
1. Provided that they are notified in accordance with Article 25 bis, nothing in Article 3 bis shall 
prevent the adoption of the following fisheries subsidies: 
 
(a) subsidies to aquaculture activities provided that  …[conditions to be specified to ensure 
any adverse impacts on wild capture fisheries are addressed]; 
 
(b) subsidies for vessel decommissioning and licence retirement provided that …[conditions 
to be specified to ensure permanent removal of capacity]; 
 
(c) subsidies to research to inform fisheries management decision makers, including data 
collection, surveys, data analysis and stock assessment; 
 
(d) subsidies for conservation-related activities [to be elaborated]; 
 
(e) access payments [further conditions to be furt her elaborated, including consideration of 
additional transparency requiremen ts for the subsidising Member] 
 
(f) certain infrastructure (e.g. the provision of transport infrastructure for fishing 
communities); 
 
(g) certain social insurance programmes (e.g. worker retraining programmes); and 
 
(h) natural disaster relief [to the extent that it only restores the fishery to its pre-disaster 
state] 
 
2. Government expenditures directly associat ed with the creation and implementation of 
fisheries management systems,3 and the enforcement of fisheries management rules shall not be 
treated as fisheries subsidies for the purposes of this Agreement. 
  
ANNEX IX 
 
PRODUCT COVERAGE FOR FISHERIES SUBSIDIES  
 
1. The fish and fisheries products referred to in Article 3 bis  and related Articles refer to: 
 
HS Chapters/Code/Headings  
HS 0509 (sponges) 
HS 0511.91 (fish unfit for human consumption) 
HS 03  (fish and fish products) HS 1504.10 (fishoil) HS 1504.20 (fishoil) ex HS 1603 (juices and extracts of meat and fish) 
                                                     
 
3 This comprises the establishment and administration of management systems (including allocating 
and monitoring fishing licences, permits, quota, vess el numbers and catch return s); adjusting management 
settings within an existing management system; and developing amendments or additions to the existing 
management system. TN/RL/GEN/100 
Page 4  
 
  HS 1604 (prepared or preserved fish) 
HS 1605 (prepared or preserved crustaceans and molluscs) HS 2301.20 (fishmeal) 
 
__________