The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: A Reader's Guide
After more than 20 years of negotiations, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded a multilateral deal to curb harmful fisheries subsidies in June 2022 at the global trade body's Twelfth Ministerial Conference. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is the first WTO agreement that focuses on environmental sustainability. It establishes a set of binding prohibitions and rules that seek to ensure that the support provided by governments to their fishing sector does not undermine the sustainability of marine resources.
This reader’s guide provides an overview of this agreement. It describes the rules and legal provisions that have been agreed and succinctly explains what the disciplines require. The guide also describes the key provisions on which agreement was not reached and which are the subject of further negotiations, currently ongoing. It has been designed to provide all interested stakeholders with a short, clear summary of this important treaty.
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