"Fish Week" Negotiations at WTO Focus on Sustainable Fisheries Subsidies

Deputy Trade Representative María L. Pagán attended the World Trade Organization's (WTO) second "Fish Week" from April 25 to April 28, 2023, where she conveyed the U.S. position on the remaining issues in the second phase of negotiations of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.

The "Fish Week" series of meetings aims to address the issue of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. This year's second "Fish Week" is one of four planned for 2023.

Ambassador Pagán expressed U.S. support for an ambitious, sustainability-focused approach to the remaining disciplines. She emphasized that the most harmful subsidies, such as those directed to fishing beyond a WTO Member's jurisdiction, should be prohibited. Furthermore, Ambassador Pagán called for greater transparency regarding forced labor on fishing vessels.

She highlighted that progress had been made leading up to the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), but an agreement on disciplining subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing was not reached. The United States, she said, is interested in working with members on new ideas to avoid further impasse.

Ambassador Pagán stressed that discussions around de minimis exclusions, transition periods, and geographical carveouts, which consumed members' attention during MC12, were not successful and would only lead to a majority of the WTO membership being exempt from the discipline. Instead, the goal should be to address harmful subsidization, and all major fishing nations and major subsidizers must be held accountable, regardless of their development status.

In addition to addressing fisheries subsidies, the United States continues to support enhanced transparency related to forced labor on fishing vessels. Ambassador Pagán urged WTO members to take a stand against this practice.