A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table?

The document outlines the negotiations and eventual adoption of a WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies aimed at curbing subsidies that contribute to overfishing, overcapacity, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It highlights the convergence of WTO members during the lead-up to the June 2022 MC12 conference and notes Singapore's role as the first coastal state to ratify the legally binding framework.

• WTO members aimed to finalize a multilateral agreement to reduce harmful fisheries subsidies during the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12), held from June 12 to 15, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. The goal of the treaty was to address subsidies that negatively impact the sustainable use of marine resources, food security, development prospects, and livelihoods of dependent populations.
• A draft agreement circulated by the Chair of negotiations, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, on November 24, 2021, showed significant member convergence across three primary substantive areas: subsidies contributing to overfishing and overcapacity, subsidies for the fishing of overfished stocks, and subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
• The resulting Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at MC12, created the first legally binding global framework to limit subsidies for fishing of overfished stocks, IUU fishing, and vessels operating on unregulated high seas. It further requests that nations show "due restraint" regarding subsidies for vessels with unknown stock status or those not flying the providing country's flag.
• Singapore was the second WTO member to ratify the agreement and the first coastal state to do so.

APA

Tipping,, T. I. (2022). A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies

Chicago

Tipping,, Tristan Irschlinger,Alice. A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tipping, |first1=Tristan Irschlinger,Alice |title=A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=17 May 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tipping2022draft, author = {Tipping,, Tristan Irschlinger,Alice}, title = {{A Draft World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: What's on the table?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/world-trade-organization-agreement-fisheries-subsidies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }