October 19, 2020 — The European Union can impose tariffs of up to USD 4 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) on imported products from the United States as a countermeasure for illegal subsidies given to American aircraft-maker Boeing, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled.
The decision, made on 13 October, builds upon the WTO’s earlier finding that recognized the Boeing subsidies were illegal.
October 5, 2020 — The COVID-19 pandemic does not appear to have hindered the distant-water fleets of China and other major fishing nations, but it has largely sidelined the fishery observers and port officials who monitor illegal fishing.
“In most of the South Pacific, fishery inspectors cannot come onboard the vessel to do inspections before authorising” the transfer of catch, known as transshipment, says Francisco Blaha, a New Zealand-based fisheries adviser.
The presence of independent observers on trawlers is a frontline deterrent to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. A 2016 study found that a third of the world’s fish catch is not reported.
“The absence of observers will bring a level of uncertainly on reporting” catch, adds Blaha. “The biggest issue we have in the South Pacific is misreporting and underreporting by the licensed fleet.”
This absence comes as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) resumes negotiations in Geneva this month in the latest attempt to reach a consensus on a long-delayed agreement to eliminate harmful subsidies. These promote the IUU and over-fishing that is decimating global fish stocks.
September 16, 2020 — A World Trade Organization panel established in January 2019 to examine U.S. tariffs on goods from China has found that the tariffs were not justifiable under WTO rules.
The tariffs, the first set of which was imposed in July 2018, covered USD 234 billion (EUR 197.8 billion) in Chinese goods, including hundreds of seafood products. Those initial tariffs sparked a trade war that has continued to this day – with some relaxations between the two countries in the wake of a “Phase One” trade deal initiated in January.
July 31, 2020 — US companies importing seafood into the United States from the European Union (EU) or United Kingdom may have to contend with an up to 100-percent tariff increase as part of a decades-long US World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over subsidies given to Netherlands-based Airbus.
On July 26 the US Trade Representative (USTR) accepted its final comments for a proposal that $3.1 billion (€2.6 billion) worth of products, including seafood, be slapped with tariffs of up to 100 percent. The United Kingdom is also included as part of that list.
The USTR is set to make a decision on the tariffs in August.
The seafood products, which have been considered for previous tariff action but have avoided US tariffs so far, are from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain Sweden and the United Kingdom.
July 28, 2020 — A bevy of seafood products from the European Union could be the target of new tariffs by the United States, stemming from a dispute over European subsidies for Airbus.
Starting in October, several mainly premium goods from the E.U. – such as Scotch whisky, cashmere, cheeses, and others – have carried a 25 percent tariff, with salmon and other seafood products barely avoiding a tariff in the trade spat. The tariffs stem from U.S. criticisms of what it calls over-subsidization of Airbus by European governments, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowing the U.S. to take USD 7.5 billion (EUR 6.3 billion) in retaliatory tariffs, BBC news reported.
July 23, 2020 — World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on ending harmful fishing subsidies resumed this week, and a return to intensive negotiations has been set for September. The timeline, however, creates a tight squeeze to reach the 31 December deadline for a deal.
Santiago Wills, the chairman of the talks, brought the heads of delegations together on 21 July for a plenary session, the first such in-person session in a month. But while there had been hopes recently of a pathway to a deal, there appears to be new friction between Beijing and Washington over China’s claims to developing nation status.
June 17, 2020 — There are some signs that talks at the World Trade Organization on ending harmful fishery subsidies may restart next month after being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A Heads of Delegation meeting has been announced by the negotiations chair for 25 June to begin discussing the latest draft proposal for a deal. A follow-up meeting for delegation leaders on 21 July will set a potential Autumn work program for negotiators.
May 21, 2020 — World Trade Organization negotiations aimed at cutting billions of dollars in subsidies that contribute to overfishing have been suspended due to opposition from some countries that are too preoccupied with COVID-19, an internal document showed.
In an email to WTO delegates, chair Santiago Wills said some members were “unable to engage in negotiation discussions due to their need to combat COVID-19 pandemic domestically” as well as movement restrictions.
“It is fair to say that the Group as a whole is not ready to fully engage while still facing these struggles,” the email sent on May 7 said. Wills declined to comment.
It was not clear exactly which countries objected although a trade official said the African, Caribbean and Pacific States Group had raised doubts.
May 8, 2020 — The following was released by The White House:
SECURING OUR SEAFOOD SUPPLY CHAIN: President Donald J. Trump is taking action to secure our Nation’s food supply chain by supporting American seafood production.
May 6, 2020 — The World Trade Organization (WTO) is struggling to maintain its relevance. Protectionism has been rising for more than a decade as a growing number of countries have openly flouted WTO rules. Many are having second thoughts about the wisdom of allowing China into the organization, where it retains special developing-economy rights that help shield its domestic economy from foreign competition. Recent trade agreements have been bilateral or regional, undermining the WTO’s purpose of maintaining a global trading order. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, impediments to trade are only expected to grow.
This sorry state of affairs in the global trading order is mirrored in the lack of progress in the only major global trade negotiations still actively underway—WTO talks intended to impose discipline on fisheries subsidies, which have led to depleted fish stocks in the world’s oceans. These talks have been going on for nearly two decades, have missed yet another deadline, and seem to be in limbo.
The obstacle standing in the way of a meaningful agreement is not just the reluctance of countries to give up subsidies. It also does not help that a deal requires unanimous approval of every clause and stipulation by all 164 WTO member countries—including landlocked ones without a marine fishing fleet, such as Hungary, Mongolia, and Mali. At the root of the fisheries problem, however, lies the WTO’s own preferred negotiating approach: As long as the WTO continues to approach trade using two different sets of rules—one for developed countries, the other for developing ones—the fisheries talks are all but certain to continue to produce only irreconcilable conflict.
Fish do not respect territorial boundaries. Overfishing, which continues to deplete fish stocks worldwide despite decades of attempts to make fishing sustainable, is by definition a global problem requiring a global solution. An estimated 37 percent of all the seafood produced in the world is traded internationally—which makes the WTO the logical forum to take the lead in finding a solution.