WTO Members Start Text-Based Talks on 2nd Fisheries Deal
Talks on the second fisheries agreement at the World Trade Organization entered into the text-based phase Oct. 9 during the start of the sixth "Fish Week" negotiating session, the WTO announced. The talks are meant to develop "disciplines on subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing," the WTO said. Negotiations between senior officials will be held Oct. 23-24, ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference in late February, Iceland's Einar Gunnarsson, chair of the talks, noted (see 2309250017 and 2303270014).
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Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the senior officials' meeting will be a good chance for members to submit their instruments of acceptance for the first fisheries deal, which was adopted at MC12. The deal needs acceptance from two-thirds of the 164 members. Presently, 43 acceptances have been submitted.
“The pressure really is building with the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) just around the corner and MC13 shortly after that," Okonjo-Iweala said during Fish Week. "How you engage this week will set the tone for the rest of this intense period coming up. I have noted your continued and unwavering commitment to deliver us an outcome at MC13. This shared spirit makes me optimistic about our chances for success.”