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handle is hein.crs/goveenm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ssi&~wI $~s~n~h $ervic~ September 16,2021 World Trade Organization Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations World Trade Organization (WiTO) members are currently negotiating a multilateral agreement to curb fisheries subsidies that lead to excess capacity, which may contribute to overfishing, as well as thosethat support illegal, unreported andunregulated (IUU) fishing. Subsidies are defined as a financialcontribution, made by a government or any public body that confers a benefit, and are generally considered to be trade distorting. They provide cost advantages to subsidized fisheries and dis advantage unsubsidized fisheries. Negotiations began in 2001 at the Doha Ministerial Conference and the mandate was renewed at the 11h Ministerial Conference in 2017, with a goal of concluding negotiations by 2020. WTO members missed thatgoal due to persistent disagreements on certain is sues and delays causedby the Coronavirus Disease 2019pandemic. Members hope to conclude negotiations before the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) is set to begin on November 30, 2021. Many observers view a successful outcome of the talks, which is the only ongoing multilateral trade negotiation, as important to preserving the WTO's credibility and relevance as a negotiating body. Membeis of Congres s have generally supported prior U.S. negotiating efforts to ban harmful fisheries s ubsidies at the W TO. Global Fisheries Trade and Subsidies The United Nation's (UN) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimated global total marine catches to be about 84.4 million metric tons in 2018. The United States was the fifth largest producer of marine capture seafood, producing roughly 4.7 million metric tons. In 2019, U.S. imports of fishery products totaled sixbillion pounds (about2.7 million metric tons), valuedat $22.2 billion. The United States exported 2.8billion pounds Figure 1. Estimated Fisheries Subsidies, 2018 (in millions High HDI Countries Millions 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 China EU United States S. Korea Japan Russia Thailan d Canada Norway Spain REMEi $ 3.8b M $3.b FARM $3.2b jME $ 2.9b I $853m ~$846m $344m (around 1.3 million metric tons), or $5.2 billion. The U.S. International Trade Commis s ion estimated that about $2.4 billion (or 11%) worth of U.S. seafood imports were products ofIUUfishing in 2019. A study estimated that around $35.4billion in subsidies were provided to fisheries globally in 2018. Countries high on the UN Human Development Index(HDI) provided about 87% of total fisheries subsidies. It is estimated that China, the European Union (EU), and the United States were the largest subsidizers (Figure 1). Indonesia, Vietnam and Morocco were the largest subsidizing countries among low HDI countries. About 62.7% ofglobalsubsidies were capacity -enhancing. Beneficial subsidies, which promote sustainable fisheries management, were roughly 29.9% of global subsidies. Ambiguous subsidies, which canbe helpfulorharmful, are about 7.1%. History of the Negotiations In the 1990s, several multilateralorganizations, such as the FAO, raised concerns about the economic and environmental impact of fisheries subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing. Subsidies provide capital to fisheries to expand fishing fleets, increase capacity to fish, and employ greater levels of fishing effort. Some studies observed that subsidies lead to excess capacity in fisheries, which may contribute to overfishing-fishing at a rate that a species cannotreplenish its population. In 2001, WTO members agreed to clarify andimprove existing W TO disciplines on fisheries subsidies in addition to negotiating clarifications to the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement). The 2005 Hong Kong Declaration clarified goals of the negotiations, specifically calling for the prohibition of and Indonesia Vietnam Morocco SenegalI Iridis P-ak sta-n Phiippirtes Yem en- Bangladesh Ghana Low HDI Countries 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 5936Sm INNNNAIM En $590m fffffffi a$296m ILINMIM $295m $276m $210m $187m $174m $161m $148m eef ea pi Capacity-Entrancing AIb guous Source: Sumaila et al., Updated Estimatesand Analysis of Global Fisheries Subsidies, Marine Policy, vol. 109 (November2019). Note: Graphic created by CRS Visual Information Specialist, MariY. Lee. https://crsreports.congress.gov

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