In this episode of the State of the Economy podcast, businessLine’s Amiti Sen talks to Mukesh Bhatnagar, Former Professor at Centre for WTO Studies, about MC 13, where India will be navigating complex negotiations to safeguard its development needs and secure exemptions for small-scale fishers.
Amiti starts the podcast by talking about the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference, MC 13, scheduled for February 2024 in Abu Dhabi. She goes on to examine the ongoing negotiations in Geneva surrounding the Agreement on ending harmful fisheries subsidies. While partial agreements were reached during MC 12 in 2022, significant aspects of this agreement are still under discussion.
According to UNCTAD, global marine fish stocks at biologically unsustainable levels have resulted in staggering economic losses. The WTO discussions aim to curb these harmful subsidies, raising complex questions about the shared responsibility of developed and developing nations and the potential for environmental carve-outs.
The discussion goes into detail about India’s active engagement in negotiations, highlighting its evolving stance on disciplining fishery subsidies. Bhatnagar elucidates India’s emphasis on securing special and differential treatment for developing countries, particularly in the context of distant water fishing.
The podcast goes on to provide a nuanced understanding of India’s challenges and interests in the negotiations, emphasising the importance of special and differential treatment. The episode concludes by visiting ongoing discussions and future developments in global economic policies.