WTO agrees to India’s demands, fisheries subsidies and TRIPS waiver given

The Indian delegation, which was headed by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, was continuously getting guidance and direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi

PGurus Newsdesk

June 17, 2022

The Indian delegation, which was headed by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, was continuously getting guidance and direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi

WTO agrees on all issues including fisheries subsidies

In a historic declaration on disciplining harmful fishing subsidies and the TRIPS waiver, 164 ministers of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have cleared a package of trade deals, including pledges on health, reform, and food security.

The law now enacted will ensure the protection of countless fishing communities across the globe who depend on marine resources for income and food security.

For the first time subsides on overfishing, deep-sea fishing, and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing were addressed through the proposed pact. “On India’s instance, sovereign sights on EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones) have been firmly established. It is really a big achievement,” PTI, quoting a source reported, adding that principal stakeholders who have benefited from these “historic decisions” taken by the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO are fishermen, farmers, food security, multilateralism, and trade and business, particularly digital economy and MSMEs.

India had been into vital negotiations that ran for five days and finally, India succeeded in getting the members to sign the multilateral agreements unanimously. The formal announcements on the deal have already arrived. “All multilateral agreements full agreed were unanimously signed” at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the WTO in Geneva, a government source informed, as quoted by PTI.

It was in 2013 at the Bali Ministerial Conference of the WTO, that the member countries inked the trade facilitation agreement to promote seamless movement of goods across the global borders.

The Indian delegation, which was headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, was continuously getting guidance and direction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is pertinent to mention that India took global leadership on all the issues and it was at the center of WTO negotiations. India also put forth aggressive draft texts in all pillars of WTO negotiations. The committee for negotiations on fisheries at the WTO ministerial meeting was headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. They focused on the protection of the interests of Indian fishermen and farmers. “India’s priority is safeguarding the long-term interests of farmers and fishermen. We will continue to be the voice of the developing and less-developed countries and work for fair outcomes,” New Delhi said in a statement ahead of the MC12.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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