Comoros announces its formal acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
On 21 August 2024, Comoros marks a crucial milestone as it becomes the 165th member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), after 17 years of intense negotiations on the terms and conditions of its accession. It is the tenth least-developed country (LDC) to accede to the WTO through negotiations.
The country also announced its formal acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, bringing the total number of acceptances of the Agreement to 82.
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
Adopted by consensus at the WTO’s 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), held in Geneva on 12-17 June 2022, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets new binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.
For the Agreement to enter into force, two-thirds of WTO members must formally accept the Protocol of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies by depositing an instrument of acceptance with the WTO.
The Agreement recognizes the needs of developing economies and LDCs, and establishes a Fund to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help them implement the Agreement.
The Agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, for fishing overfished stocks, and for fishing on the unregulated high seas.
