Mar 24, 2021, Geneva: AT the end of a week-long cluster of meetings of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Negotiating Group on Rules, the members continued to discuss the deal to end harmful subsidies to fisheries, with "limited progress," said the chair.

Mr Santiago Wills of Colombia, the chair of the negotiations, reported to heads of delegation at the close of the week that while meeting in different configurations had seen useful engagement and some new ideas, progress had been limited.

The meetings, held from March 15-19, discussed the scope of the fisheries subsidies and enhancing the transparency of the programme.

Negotiators mulled over whether there should be special treatment for artisanal or low-income fishing in the subsidies disciplines, including based on geographical area. While there is broad agreement on the need for the exemption, the WTO remains divided on how it would be structured.

Meanwhile India proposed that the jurisdiction of the subsidies should be limited so that they do not interfere with the decisions of countries' fisheries management authorities –a move aimed at preserving the sovereign rights of countries to explore, exploit, conserve and manage the fisheries resources within 200 nautical miles of their sea zones.

The WTO members also discussed options for reflecting sustainability in the draft disciplines on subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing as well as the kinds of information that members should notify relating to the operation of the fisheries subsidies disciplines.

The next cluster of fisheries subsidies meetings will be held during the week of April 12.

The new WTO Director-General Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has repeatedly emphasised her commitment to getting a deal done in her first day in office. She has urged negotiators to carve an agreement before the next 12th Ministerial Conference in November.