WTO Only Nine Ratifications Away From Fisheries Subsidies Going Into Force

Panama was the recent nation to formally accept the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) much-anticipated Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Only nine more acceptances are required for the Agreement to enter into force. On June 12,  Minister of Trade and Industry, Julio Moltó, formally accepted the agreement from Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General, WTO. He said: “Our ratification reaffirms Panama’s commitment to the multilateral system and to protecting its seas.”

The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was formally adopted in June 2022, at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference, to regulate and limit harmful fisheries subsidies, particularly those that contribute to overfishing, overcapacity, and IUU fishing. To date, 102 nations have already signed the agreement, and it needs to hit 111 to go into force. Tuna-fishing nations in the EU, China, Mauritius, and Ecuador are some of them. The US accepted the agreement in April 2023 and another superpower, Russia, which has no tuna fishing boats, is among those that have formally accepted it.