India and China have cautioned member countries against an immediate re-start of text-based negotiations on curbing fisheries subsidies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) saying there is a need for deeper discussions before the drafting starts.

Some members such as New Zealand, Brazil and the EU, immediately wanted to begin discussions on the text of the negotiations, especially with the negotiating group on fisheries subsidies coming up with a work programme this week which aims to adopt an agreement on the matter by the next Ministerial meet in December 2019.

“India wants flexibilities in the text to protect subsidies given to its artisanal fishers. It will not be hurried into agreeing to a text which doesn’t adequately take care of its concerns,” a government official told BusinessLine .

Both India and China said it would be better to deepen discussions so that when the drafting work actually begins, the differences between members would have narrowed.

Fishing capacity

As per the work programme, on May 14-17, members will focus on subsidies that enhance or maintain fishing capacity and subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing. Special and differential treatment for developing members and least developed countries (LDCs) will also be discussed.

“This aspect of the negotiations is most important for India as it needs to be sure that the special and differential treatment extended to it will unambiguously exempt small and artisanal fishermen from cutting down on their subsidies,” the official said. India is in great need of a special dispensation as the subsidies it provides, in the form of support for motorisation of fishing boats, fuel rebates and infrastructure support, fall under the targeted subsidies list at the WTO.

Many WTO members, however, are not in favour of extending special and differential treatment to India as it would automatically result in extension of similar treatment to China which gives a large amount of subsidies to its fishers.

“There are a lot of apprehensions about extending S&DT to China, too, as it heavily subsidises its fishers. Because of the China factor, India is being denied what it should normally be extended because of its developing country status. But we are going to fight it out,” the official said.

The discussion on curbing fisheries subsidies is led by an informal grouping of members called ‘Friends of Fish’ (including Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, Pakistan, Peru and the US), which argues that subsidies to the fisheries sector — estimated at $14-20.5 billion annually or 20-25 per cent of revenues — have led to over-capacity and over-fishing.

At the last WTO Ministerial meet in Buenos Aires in December, one of the few things agreed upon by participants was that all would try and make available a draft agreement on fisheries subsidies by December 2019.

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