The next World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Buenos Aires in December will seek to move toward ending subsidies for illegal fishing and other agricultural issues.
WTO Deputy Director-General, Alan Wolff, said this Tuesday (24.10.2017) in Rome that the Fishing subsidies will be one of the priorities in the negotiations which will be held by the ministers of the 164 member countries of that organization between December 10 and 13 of this year in the Argentine capital.
During an event at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), based in the Italian capital, he recalled that there is an international commitment to eliminate by 2020 subsidies that contribute to illegal fishing in order to make sustainable use of marine resources.
In addition to avoiding the introduction of new aid, the official said that "preferential treatment for lower-income countries should be taken into account."
Argentina's chief negotiator, Gabriel Martínez, He agreed that the issue with the best prospects for agreement is the one regarding illegal fishing., while the negotiation of subsidies for overfishing and overcapacity could be left for the next conference in two years.
The fishing industry is worth up to 146.000 billion dollars a year and the subsidies it receives range from 20.000 to 35.000 billion dollars a year, according to figures from the United Nations, although fishermen receive only a fifth of this aid, which does not always lead to an improvement in their conditions.
Source: Reuters
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
