Forty-eight World Trade Organization members adopted a "comprehensive plan" at the 13th Ministerial Conference to try to phase out or eliminate harmful fossil fuel subsidies, the WTO announced Feb. 27. The members, including countries in South America, Europe and the Pacific Islands, hope to make progress on the effort this year and next ahead of the next ministerial conference, the WTO said. The effort, called the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform initiative, aims to boost transparency surrounding fossil fuel subsidies, "tackle crisis support measures," and identify key fossil fuel subsidy types and different ways to "reform, reduce and eliminate them."

The Philippines accepted the World Trade Organization's agreement on fisheries subsidies, the WTO announced this week. Seventy members have accepted the deal, which is 40 shy of the two-thirds mark needed for full adoption.

The six co-cordinators of the World Trade Organization's Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade outlined several "trade-related actions" countries should take to address the environmental, health and economic impacts of plastics pollution, the WTO announced Feb. 27. The co-coordinators -- Australia, Barbados, China, Ecuador, Fiji and Morocco -- released the text as part of the 13th Ministerial Conference.

Eight more World Trade Organization members accepted the fisheries subsidies agreement at the start of the 13th Ministerial Conference this week, the WTO said. Sixty-nine members have so far accepted the deal and 40 more are needed for ratification; the WTO said one more member is expected to accept the deal during MC13. The newest countries to adopt the agreement are Brunei, Chad, Malaysia, Norway, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Togo and Turkey. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said negotiations also are ongoing on a second fisheries deal, adding that passing both agreements would "really put WTO members at the forefront of action on sustainability of our oceans and would safeguard the livelihoods of the 260 million people who depend on these oceans."

All World Trade Organization members accepted the WTO membership terms of Comoros and Timor-Leste at the start of the 13th Ministerial Conference this week, the WTO announced. Both nations will now send their protocols for ratification to their legislative assemblies and will officially become members within 30 days of submitting notice of ratification to the WTO. After this is completed, 166 nations will belong to the WTO, with 22 more nations seeking to join, "including a sizeable contingent from the Arab world," the WTO said.

Haiti formally accepted the agreement on fisheries subsidies Feb. 21, the World Trade Organization announced. Sixty-one member countries have now accepted the deal, which is 55% of the way to the two-thirds threshold of members needed for the agreement to enter into force at the WTO.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel on Feb. 20 found a U.S. attempt to revisit part of its countervailing duty laws as they pertain to subsidies on agricultural products violated the nation's WTO commitments. The panel said the U.S. failed to implement the findings of a previous dispute panel ruling, which said these same laws cut against the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in relation to a subsidy finding on ripe olives from Spain.

Morocco launched a safeguard investigation on coated fiberboard on Feb. 20, it told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards, the WTO announced. Morocco said interested parties have 30 days from the start of the investigation to comment on the proceeding.

A draft text on World Trade Organization dispute settlement reform efforts was released Feb. 16, ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference, which is set to be held Feb. 26-29. In all, the text includes 11 sections, covering issues including alternative dispute resolution procedures and arbitration, panel proceedings, compliance and transparency. Notably, the text doesn't include any discussion of the appeal or review mechanism, which is seen as the largest sticking point in reform talks.

Four World Trade Organization members -- Barbados, Dominica, Senegal and Uruguay -- formally accepted the agreement on fisheries subsidies Feb. 14, the WTO announced. Sixty member countries have now accepted the deal, which is 55% of the way to the two-thirds threshold of members needed for the agreement to enter into force at the WTO.