Manila,

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Fisheries in the WTO
Presentation by Christina Schröder, Agriculture
Commodities Division, WTO christina.schroder_at_wt
o.org
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DDA and Fisheries

• Main centre of interest to
• fisheries and aquaculture are
• negotiations on fisheries subsidies
• in Rules Neg. Group but also tariff
• and non-tariff negotiations in
• Market Access Neg. Group.

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Outline

• 1) Fisheries Subsidies
• 2) Customs duties on Fish and Fish
  products

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GATT/WTO and Subsidies

• Article XVI of the GATT (1949)
• Tokyo Round's Subsidy Code (1979)
• Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
  Measures (1995)

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Fisheries Subsidies(Outline)

• General definition of subsidy
• Fisheries Subsidies
• Fisheries Subsidy Negotiations

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General Definition of Subsidy (1)

• a subsidy shall be deemed
• to exist if
• there is a financial
• contribution by a government or

Article 1
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General Definition of Subsidy (2)
Article 1

• there is any form of income
• or price support in the sense of Article XVI
  of GATT 1994

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General Definition of Subsidy (3)
Article 1

• and a benefit is thereby conferred
  

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General Definition of Subsidy (4)
Article 2

• A Specific subsidy is a subsidy available only
  to an enterprise, industry, group of enterprises,
  or group of industries in the country that gives
  the subsidy.

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General Definition of Subsidy (5)

• There are two kinds of subsidies
• (1) Prohibited subsidies
• (2) Actionable subsidies.

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General Definition of Subsidy (6)

• Non-actionable subsidies lapsed on 31 December
  1999 and do not exist anymore for the purposes of
  the Subsidy Agreement.

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General Definition of Subsidy (6)

• Prohibited subsidies are
• contingent on
• export performance
• the use of domestic over
• imported goods.

Article 3
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General Definition of Subsidy (7)
Article 3(a)
Exceptions 1) LDCs and developing countries
with less than US1,000 per capita
GNP. 2) Other developing countries terminate by
end of 2002 or request extension.

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General Definition of Subsidy (7)
Article 5

• Actionable subsidies are those which cause to
  another Member
• injury to the domestic industry
• nullification or impairment of benefits
• serious prejudice.

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RECAP
To be subject to the disciplines of part III and
V of the Subsidy Agreement, an Article 1 subsidy
needs to be
Actionable
Specific!
and
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Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations
Negotiations on fishery subsidies take place in
the Negotiating Group on Rules. Several
discussion papers and two negotiating proposals
on the table.
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Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations
Paragraph 28
DD participants shall aim to clarify and improve
WTO disci-plines on fisheries subsidies, taking
into account importance of this sector to
developing countries.
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Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations

• On the negotiating table
• 11 discussion papers by six countries or groups
  of countries.
• 2 negotiating proposals by two countries.

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Recap
GATT/ WTO
Negotiating rounds
Tariffs
3
7
8
Subsidies
5
1
4
2
6
SPS
9
TBT
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Customs Duties on Fish and Fish Products

• Since 1986, tariffs on fish and fish products
  are estimated to have decreased by some 26 per
  cent to an average level of 4.5 per cent

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Customs Duties on Fish and Fish Products

• Tariff and ntbs for fish and fish products,
  including aquaculture products, are handled in
  the Market Access Neg. Group as part of the
  general tariff and ntb negotiations.

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Doha Ministerial Declaration

• shall aim, ..., to reduce or as appro-priate
  eliminate tariffs, including the reduction or
  elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs, and
  tariff escalation, as well as ntbs, in
  particular on products of export interest to
  developing countries.

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Customs Duties on Fish and Fish Products

• Market Access Negotiations
• Mid May, Chair draft of modalities
• End May, aim to reach agreement on modalities.

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Customs Duties on Fish and Fish Products

• Chair draft on modalities
• Formula for tariff reductions
• Zero-for-zero in selected sectors
• SD and
• Elements with respect to ntbs.

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• THE END!