WTO Reform Gains Momentum... Fisheries Subsidies Negotiation Settled After 21 Years (Comprehensive)

12th WTO Ministerial Conference Closes...164 Member Countries Adopt Ministerial Declaration
WTO Reform Accelerates...Discussion on Restoring Dispute Settlement by 2024
Fisheries Subsidy Negotiations Concluded...Effect Lost if Issues Unresolved Within 4 Years
Developing Countries Allowed 'Vaccine IP Rights'...Agreed to Restrain Food Export Restrictions

WTO Director-General and Country Representatives Greeting Each Other After the Closing of the WTO Ministerial Conference
(Geneva AFP=Yonhap News) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (right), is greeting Piyush Goyal, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution of India, after the closing ceremony of the WTO Ministerial Conference at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 17th (local time). On this day, the WTO reached agreements on addressing food insecurity and the temporary waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. 2022.06.17
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted a ministerial declaration at the 12th Ministerial Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. At this ministerial conference, the WTO concluded negotiations on fisheries subsidies that began in 2001 and decided to fully initiate WTO reforms. The government also discussed trade issues, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), with ministers from major countries during the conference.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the ministerial declaration was adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, from the 12th to the 17th. The WTO Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body of the WTO, attended by trade ministers from all 164 member countries. Although the WTO Ministerial Conference is normally held every two years, it was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was held for the first time in five years since 2017.

Adoption of Ministerial Declaration... Reform of WTO’s Three Core Functions

The ministerial declaration is the final outcome of the WTO Ministerial Conference adopted with the consent of all WTO member countries. At the 11th Ministerial Conference held in 2017, the adoption of the ministerial declaration failed due to differences in opinions between developed and developing countries. The ministerial declaration adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference reaffirmed the fundamental principles of the multilateral trading system and emphasized the importance of inclusive trade.

The core of the ministerial declaration is WTO reform. The declaration includes provisions to fully initiate WTO reforms. Specifically, through the ministerial declaration, member countries agreed to start reforms of the WTO’s three core functions: rule-making negotiations (legislative), implementation and monitoring (administrative), and dispute settlement (judicial). They also agreed to hold discussions to normalize the WTO dispute settlement system by 2024.

The government expects the restoration of the multilateral trading order to accelerate starting from the 12th Ministerial Conference. A government official said, “The adoption of the ministerial declaration is significant in that WTO member countries confirmed their willingness for ‘policy coordination,’” adding, “It is the result of member countries coming together to overcome the crisis facing the WTO and to give momentum to discussions on restoring the multilateral trading system.”

On the 14th (local time), Andeok Geun, Director-General for Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, attended the 12th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference on fisheries subsidies held in Geneva, Switzerland (photo left).
[Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations Concluded... Key Issues to be Agreed Within Four Years

The fisheries subsidies negotiations were also concluded after 21 years. Previously, the WTO began negotiations on fisheries subsidies in 2001 to protect fishery resources, but no significant progress was made over the past 21 years due to disagreements among member countries. It is reported that WTO member countries reached an agreement on fisheries subsidies after intense discussions that extended more than two days beyond the originally scheduled closing day (the 15th) of the ministerial conference.

The subsidies prohibited under the fisheries subsidies agreement are those related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and subsidies for overfished species. However, provisions concerning tax-exempt fuel, distant-water fishing subsidies, and special treatment for developing countries were not included in the final agreement due to unresolved differences among member countries. Additionally, if two-thirds or more of the 164 member countries fail to agree on these issues within four years after the agreement enters into force, the agreement will lose its effect.

The impact of the WTO fisheries subsidies agreement on domestic fisheries subsidies is expected to be minimal. However, since the government agreed to negotiate unresolved issues within four years after the agreement’s entry into force, it plans to actively respond to future negotiations.

Anduk Geun, Head of the Trade Negotiation Department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (left), held a meeting with Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in Geneva, Switzerland on the 15th (local time) to discuss Korea-U.S. trade issues.
[Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Pandemic Response Measures Established... Food Security Discussions Also Held

The ministerial conference also included discussions on responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Member countries agreed to respond to pandemics by utilizing WTO policy tools, including refraining from export restrictions on medical supplies. Developing countries were allowed to produce COVID-19 vaccines under relaxed conditions compared to the existing WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). However, countries with strong export capacities, including South Korea and China, which are not developing countries, cannot utilize the vaccine intellectual property provisions agreed upon at this ministerial conference.

Discussions on food security were also conducted. Member countries adopted a ministerial declaration on food security and agreed to refrain from unnecessary export restrictions and prohibitions. Emergency measures for food security will also be implemented as long as they do not distort trade.

Meanwhile, An Deok-geun, head of the Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Trade Negotiations Bureau and Korea’s chief representative at the conference, held meetings with key ministers including Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in Geneva. These meetings were to discuss trade issues such as the recently launched IPEF. An also consulted with WTO experts from academia and law firms in Geneva on reform measures to normalize dispute settlement in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.