WTO: India for 'per capita distribution of subsidies' criteria for fishers

India is pushing for the use of a “per capita distribution of subsidies” criteria in order to discipline subsidies that result in overfishing and overcapacity under a World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework.

 

Last week, India submitted a paper at the WTO — Designing Disciplines for the Overcapacity and Overfishing Pillar: A Case for Intensity-based Subsidies Approach — which will be discussed at the global trade organisation’s general council meeting in Geneva on December 16-17, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

 

India also flagged the difference in the amount of subsidy provided by developing nations such as India, as compared to developed nations. For instance, India provides a modest $35 per fisher annually, compared to subsidies as high as $76,000 per fisher per year in some European nations.

 

In 2022, WTO member nations finalised a pact on stopping subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. The draft text on fisheries subsidies proposes using the annual aggregate level of fisheries subsidies, which, according to India, cannot be the “correct measure”.

 

This is because these subsidies include “beneficial” and “subsistence” subsidies that are linked to livelihood, which in no way contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

 

“This approach, while convenient for assessing subsidy flows on a large scale, overlooks the intensity of subsidies and their real impact on sustainability. It fails to reflect the situation of a few countries that have already expanded their fishing capacities and continue to heavily subsidise their large-scale industrial fleets, thereby contributing significantly to overfishing,” according to the paper submitted by India.

 

On the other hand, developing countries that have yet to build such capacities and support large fisher populations are placed at a disadvantage. Per fisher subsidy metrics also offer insights into how much financial assistance each fisher receives, and the “granularity” helps identify the level of support reaching different segments of the fishing population.

 

“Thus, adopting a ‘per capita distribution of subsidies’ criterion could provide a more accurate and fair basis for managing overfishing and capacity issues,” the paper said.

 

Investment facilitation and agriculture

 

The official cited above said that India is against the move led by countries such as China to push a proposal on investment facilitation at the WTO, mainly because it is a plurilateral pact, instead of a trade agreement.

 

India will also submit papers in the WTO against this, because such agreements could dilute the multilateral nature of the WTO. A China-led group of 128 countries is pushing for the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) proposal. The proposal will be binding on only the signatory members.

 

The IFD was first mooted in 2017 by China and other countries that depend heavily on Chinese investments, and countries with sovereign wealth funds are party to that pact.

 

The official further said that India is pushing for finding a “permanent solution” to public stockholding of grains for food security, which has been pending for over two decades now.

 

“India is not going to compromise on food security and livelihood issues of its farmers,” the official said. That apart, India's support measures to the farmers are for their sustenance, while production-based support measures to farmers distort trade. India provided a meagre subsidy of $465 per farmer against $81,000 per farmer by the US in 2022-23.