India to oppose ditching of fishing subsidiaries at WTO: Report

Representative image

India is likely oppose the scrapping of fisheries subsidies at a key meeting of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on July 15, Bloomberg reported. Hectic negotiations are underway in Geneva on the matter of declining global fish stock which is also encouraged by government subsidies.

Under the mandate from the WTO's 11th Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires in 2017 and the UN sustainable development goal target, negotiators have been given the task of securing agreement on disciplines to eliminate subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

They also aim to secure pacts to prohibit certain forms of fishery subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, with special and differential treatment being an integral part of the negotiations.

While developed nations are pushing for prohibitions on subsidies, India wants an equitable and balanced outcome as the country provides support to its small and marginal fishermen who depend on the sector for sustenance. Unlike some nations that provide billions of dollars of subsidies to their fishermen, India's subsidy amounts to only about Rs 770 crore. The government provides subsidies on things like fuel and boats.

New Delhi is likely to push for phased scrapping of subsidies so as to reduce the impact on the fishing industry and poor fishermen, the report added. The sector provides livelihood to about 16 million Indian fishermen and fish farmers at the primary level and about twice the number along the value chain.

India will also argue that developed nations should assume more responsibility for the huge amounts of subsidies and should cut it down to reduce overfishing.

The share of the fisheries sector in the total GDP (at current prices) increased from 0.40 percent in 1950-51 to 1.03 percent in 2017-18.

WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies were launched in 2001 at Doha, with a mandate to clarify and improve existing WTO disciplines on fisheries subsidies. That mandate was expanded in 2005 at the Hong Kong meet, including with a call for prohibiting certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

(With inputs from PTI)