Chapter 3: Analysis of the Proposed Fisheries Subsidies Regulations by the Chairman of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules

Abstract

In Chapter 1, we looked at the current regulations applicable to fisheries subsidies under international law regimes and identified the need for fisheries subsidies reform. In Chapter 2, we followed the relevant negotiations within the WTO to understand the arguments and concerns of the WTO Members which culminated with the legal draft of fisheries subsidies regulations presented by the Chairman of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules in November 2007 (Chair’s text).608 The proposed regulations represent the outcome of the efforts that the WTO and its Members have made in the Doha Round Negotiations initiated in 2001. The Chair’s text (Attachment II) attempts to take into account the necessary elements for achieving the goals of trade liberalization, fisheries conservation and sustainable development in the fisheries sector. In this Chapter, we examine whether the proposed regulations provide an adequate solution for the issues arising from fisheries subsidies.