Singapore becomes second member country of WTO to sign agreement banning harmful fishing subsidies

Singapore became the second member country of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to ratify its agreement which sets global rules that ban harmful fishing subsidies in a bid to protect the world’s oceans, on Friday (February 10). In a statement, the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Singapore’s permanent representative ambassador Tan Hung Seng has formally submitted an instrument of acceptance of the WTO’s agreement on fisheries subsidies to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva, Switzerland.

The submission makes Singapore the second member nation after Switzerland which ratified the agreement in January and the first coastal state to do so. It is also the first multilateral trade agreement that focuses on environmental sustainability which requires the acceptance of two-thirds of WTO’s 164 members to come into effect. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets curbs on harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world's fish stocks, said the WTO, in a statement.

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Additionally, the multilateral agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as well as bans support for fishing overfished stocks and calls for an end to subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas. “Singapore's formal acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is an important step towards its entry into force. It adds to the diversity of economies needed for the collective effort to uphold ocean sustainability worldwide,” said the WTO director-general.

She also called Singapore a “stalwart supporter” of the multilateral trading system and an active participant in both the fisheries subsidies negotiations and ongoing discussions on trade and the environment. Notably, the agreement also recognises the needs of developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) and will establish a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help them end harmful fisheries subsidies and support sustainable fishing practices.

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So far, countries like Japan, Australia and the European Union have pledged millions to help developing and least-developed countries implement the obligations of the agreement. Subsequently, in a post on Facebook, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said, “As a firm supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system, Singapore welcomes this landmark agreement – the first WTO agreement with an environmental focus.”

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