The Philippines became the 70th member to accept the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (FSA) on Tuesday, after it submitted its instrument of acceptance during the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. presented the instrument to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“The agreement allows members to grant subsidies for disaster relief under certain conditions, supporting fisherfolk impacted by natural disasters,” Pascual said. “This is vital for the Philippines, a climate-vulnerable country, especially since small-scale and artisanal fisherfolk are heavily impacted by strong typhoons and rising sea temperatures exacerbated by climate change.”
The FSA aims to curb harmful subsidies and safeguard dwindling fish stocks. It prohibits subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished stocks and fishing in the unregulated high seas.
Developing and least-developed countries have flexibility to provide subsidies within their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) for two years after the agreement enters into force. This benefits the Philippines’ small-scale and artisanal fisherfolk who operate within municipal waters.
The Philippines can access technical assistance from the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism to help implement the agreement.
The FSA was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022 and needs ratification by two-thirds of WTO members to enter into force.