The World Trade Organization (WTO) draft text to ban subsidies that facilitate overfishing is weak, unbalanced and mainly favors rich countries, declared a senior official from the Indian Trade Ministry.
The revised draft text, which was presented on November 8, will be discussed at the Ministerial Conference from November 30 to December 3 in Geneva, Switzerland.
But an Indian Trade Ministry official told AFP on Friday, on condition of anonymity, the text is “weak, unbalanced and favors advanced fishing nations”. “Nothing changes for the major fishing nations”He added.
India, he added, supports the idea of a pact of the OMC on fisheries subsidies, but noted that ongoing talks have yet to address developing country concerns.
The Indian government previously stated that it wanted the “main funders“Such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, China and the European Union,”take greater responsibility for reducing their subsidies and their fishing capacity”.
“Any pact must recognize that countries are at different stages of development and that current fisheries agreements reflect their current economic capabilities.”Stated the Indian Trade Minister, Piyush Goyal, at a meeting of the OMC in July.
The OMC He has been debating fishing for two decades. Global fisheries subsidies range from $ 14 to $ 54 billion a year, according to the OMC.
The director of the OMC, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who took office in March, has made finalizing a fisheries agreement by the end of the year a priority.
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