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US wants tougher trade rules for fish subsidies
24th March 2003
GENEVA - The United States called last week for tougher global controls on subsidies to the fishing industry which it said were doing heavy environmental and economic damage.
The plan was put to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is considering whether to seek to negotiate new rules for fishing as part a wider round of free trade talks.
The United States, which won support from Norway and Chile and other states with significant fishing industries, urged an end to all subsidies that directly led to overfishing or excessive capacity or distorted trade.
Other types of state aid would also be subject to WTO action unless countries using it could prove that it had no damaging effects on trade or the environment.
"By improving WTO disciplines on harmful fisheries subsidies, we can give a concrete, real world demonstration that trade liberalisation benefits the environment and contributes to sustained development," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said in a statement.
According to the United States, countries spend $10-$15 billion a year on subisidising their fishing industries, up to a quarter of the $56 billion value of world fish trade.
Iceland, New Zealand and Peru also gave backing to the U.S. call and China lent cautious support, but it said an exception should be made for fish farms.
However, Japan and South Korea, both providers of heavy subsidies, attacked the plan, saying that there was still no agreement amongst WTO members, whose decisions are taken by consensus, on whether fishing needed its own set of rules.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE - PLANET ARK
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