Face-off between developed, developing countries imminent in WTO
A clear divide is emerging as the WTO is trying to negotiate an agreement on fisheries and India has categorically stated that it is the developed world that is responsible for the depletion of marine resources and that it is not helping its fishermen. Will not compromise on subsidy. Ahead of the formal start of the 12th Ministerial Meeting, Brajendra Navneet, a Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organization, said, “We are committed to protecting the rights of our traditional fishermen, we will not allow any impact on their livelihoods, no restrictions. The subsidy they are getting will not happen, it is India’s commitment and India will not bow down to it.” It was on July 15 last year when all the ministers had gathered on this subject. Representative ministers from 82 out of 120 countries were supporting India in the policy space for the future, recognizing the concept of common plus differentiated responsibility, which shows that India enjoys the support of developing countries.
At the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in the city of Geneva, Switzerland, a face-to-face platform between developing and developed countries is ready. “The Coalition of Developing Countries. They know they have not depleted these resources, so obviously their interest is protecting their small and traditional fishermen, they would prefer no discipline in their waters, they want when If they are physically developed, then policy space should be created,” Brajendra Navneet said. “They are not engaged in fishing in distant waters and they have stopped them to fish in their own waters for the purpose of livelihood and do not want to take the responsibility of future because someone said that they were not part of the problem, The problem is created by those who are engaging their own resources in fishing in distant waters. So for these countries, they want to maintain a kind of safety net for their small and traditional fishermen, their own Fishing on the waters of them should not be under any subsidized discipline,” he said.
Agreeing on fishing doesn’t seem possible until developed countries bring something credible to the table because developing countries tend to believe that developed nations are big players in deep sea fishing and have done less in a few generations.
According to the latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, fish stocks in many parts of the world are at risk due to overexploitation. The fact sheet published by the WTO states that it is estimated that 34 percent of global stocks are lost, compared to 10 percent in 1974, meaning they are being exploited at a pace where fish populations themselves Can’t refill. Thematic sessions that will discuss the TRIPS waiver proposal and the WTO’s response to the pandemic and future pandemics will begin on Monday and will be followed by a session on food security.
(ANI inputs)
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