Reforming Perverse Fisheries Subsidies at MC11

An agreement among WTO Members to reform certain harmful fisheries subsidies is one of the most likely substantive outcomes of MC11.  There may also be agreement to build on the results announced at Buenos Aires in further work at the WTO. This session considered the magnitude and impacts of harmful subsidies provided to the global fishing fleet. It considered the likely shape of an outcome on this issue, how far the outcome goes in meeting the challenge of collective action on disciplines on fisheries subsidies, and where further work would be needed. This session was organised under the E15 Initiative, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and was moderated by Alice Tipping, Programme Manager, Environment and Natural Resources, ICTSD.

The biennial Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium (TSDS), held alongside the WTO ministerial conference for over a decade, is the leading multi-stakeholder platform for intellectual enquiry and dialogue on sustainable development and the global trade and investment system. The TSDS – organised by ICTSD in partnership with the Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), the Inter–American Development Bank (BID), Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) and Bolsa de Cereales with the support and collaboration of the Ministerio de Producción, Presidencia de la Nación, Argentina – acts as an inclusive platform outside of the WTO negotiating setting for sharing ideas, engaging in dialogue, and influencing trade policy negotiations. Drawing in participants from government, business and civil society, the Symposium helps to maintain and elaborate a global vision of sustainable development in trade and investment policymaking.