The Central government has submitted a new proposal at the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) ongoing negotiations on prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies.
It suggested that the role of the dispute settlement panel in matters of fisheries management of coastal states should be limited and a member should be allowed to retain its sovereignty on the matter.
New Delhi’s earlier proposal of exempting countries from subsidy reduction commitments based on national incomes, although criticised by some developed nations, has been retained by the chair of the negotiating committee for further refinement.
The role of dispute settlement panels in the fisheries subsidies agreement should be limited in terms of what it is allowed to review related to fisheries management determinations. It wants to ensure that the sovereignty of a member should not be compromised.
Although India’s new proposal has not been discussed yet by the members, it holds a lot of importance for the country as it does not want to give up its sovereignty on the important issue of fisheries management.
The threshold level proposed by India is important for the country as it will lead to the exclusion of China, the country with the highest fisheries subsidy, from the waiver.
WTO has been looking at 2020-end deadline for concluding the fisheries talks but it is now likely to spill over to 2021.