COFI:FT/VII/2000/6  |
| COFI:FT/VII/2000/6 |
Item 7.2 of the Provisional Agenda |
COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES |
SUB-COMMITTEE ON FISH TRADE |
Seventh Session |
Bremen, Germany, 22-25 March 2000 |
IMPLEMENTATION OF WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AGREEMENTS AND MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS:
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1. At the time of writing it is not clear which direction Multilateral Trade Negotiations (MTN) will take after the closing of the Ministerial Conference in Seattle. It is, therefore, not possible to ascertain whether trade in fish and fishery products will be on the agenda of a new round; when negotiations may start; and in which way they will be conducted. It is also not possible to determine whether the general observer status of FAO at WTO will allow provision of FAO technical expertise to interested negotiating parties, but it may be assumed that FAO would be prepared to assist if the Organization were requested to do so. At the time of discussing pros and cons of establishing the Sub-Committee1, a general consensus prevailed that negotiations were the exclusive prerogative of WTO (then GATT) and the role of COFI and of its Sub-Committee on Fish Trade would be limited to the identification and discussion of trade problems. Hence, there is a potential support function but members would have to request specifically that it be set in motion.
2. Whereas assistance to countries regarding the preparation of future MTN on fishery products has yet to be clearly defined, training and assistance with regard to the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements have been ongoing for several years now and are expected to continue at least during the current biennium (to 2001) and probably also during the following biennium (2002/2003).
3. In principle training and trade-related technical assistance provided by FAO covers all commodities within the organization's mandate, comprising trade in food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry2. However, the weight given to the various categories differs, because their status differ in the WTO agreements, e.g. fisheries and forestry are not covered by the Agreement on Agriculture and therefore do not form part of the commodities for which this agreement mandated further MTN.
4. In fisheries, training and technical assistance was already being provided prior to the introduction of new quality assurance systems in major import markets and the Sub-Committee has been informed about these efforts in previous sessions. The project GCP/INT/609/DEN "Regional Workshop on Fish Technology and Quality Control", several projects under the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme and some of those funded by the Common Fund for Commodities3 are examples of the delivery mechanisms employed. In time for the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle, FAO published a brochure "FAO trade-related technical assistance and information" which describes FAO's activities and competence in the areas within its mandate in a summary fashion4.
5. In 1998/1999 FAO elaborated a specific programme "Umbrella Programme for Training of Uruguay Round and Multilateral Trade Negotiations on Agriculture". This programme, funded from TCP resources and substantial contributions by several donor countries and agencies, provides for 14 regional courses for developing countries and countries in transition. The courses are spread over time from June 1999 to April 2000. Typically, a one week course covers:
It may be noticed that the subject matter is directed to agricultural trade to a very large extent and forestry and fisheries issues can claim only a small fraction of the course time available5. This situation is mirrored in the composition of national teams undergoing the training, i.e. participation of forestry and fishery expert is the exception rather than the rule. The benefits which these subsectors can draw from the courses is therefore limited.
6. In order to allow an appropriate level of support to the fisheries and aquaculture subsector in preparing for the MTN, modest amounts of funding have been reserved from the budget of the Fish Utilization and Marketing Service.
7. In order to assist developing countries in the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements and to help preparation for future multilateral trade negotiations, including the Millennium Round Negotiations, FAO has initiated a special training programme. In the framework of the Fish INFO Network (INFOFISH, INFOPECHE, INFOPESCA, INFOSAMAK, EASTFISH and INFOYU), the Fish Utilization and Marketing Service of FAO will contribute to this programme and provide factual and concrete information on:
8. The difficulties of adequate coordination within the Secretariat during the preparation and implementation of the Umbrella Programme are caused by the fact that the MTN on agriculture are mandatory, whereas it is not certain that they will cover fisheries and forestry as well. This puts the major emphasis on agriculture and the invitations may only reach recipients in the administration responsible for trade and/or agriculture. If there is no coordination at the country level there is a danger that the interests of the fishery sector will not be taken into account when elaborating the national strategy for the negotiations. Assuring coordination at the national level should be a high priority for those responsible for fisheries and in particular for international trade in fishery products.
9. In this context the experience of the member countries of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) may be relevant and of interest to other Sub-Committee members. SEAFDEC held a Preparatory Meeting on Issues of International Fish Trade and Environment in Bangkok, Thailand from 3-5 November 1999; the need for better coordination at national level was one of the problem areas identified where suitable solutions would have to be found.
10. Although it is not certain, at the time of writing, how fishery commodities and/or fishery issues will be handled in the next round of MTN, it can be confirmed that the training programme will continue, possibly with a shift of emphasis towards aspects related to the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements.
11. The Sub-Committee is invited to provide guidance with regard to:
12. It may share national and, if appropriate, regional experiences of coordination in preparing for MTN and recommend ways for achieving effective coordination leading to satisfactory reflection of the fisheries and aquaculture subsector in national and, if applicable, regional negotiating positions.
1 COFI Sessions in 1983 and 1985 and World Fisheries Conference in 1984.
2 These categories may contain some redundancies but it is preferable to use the complete list in order to avoid misunderstandings. Should none of them cover products from aquaculture (perhaps in other languages), it would have to be specified as well. In this context it should be pointed out that the Agreement on Agriculture specifies in Annex 1, 1.(i) that "fish and fish products" are excluded. This terminology lacks precision because it does not address the non-fish products in HS Chapters 1-24 (HS: Harmonized System of the World Customs Organization). The FAO classification of fishery commodities covers products derived from fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals as well as those originating from aquaculture.
3 See documents COFI:FT/VII/2000/10 "COFI Sub-Committee on Fish Trade as International Commodity Body and its relationship with the Common Fund for Commodities" and COFI:FT/VII/2000/Inf.7 "Project information".
4 The document may be obtained from the Sales and Marketing Group at FAO Headquarters; it is also available on the internet at: http://www.fao.org.ur
5 The instruction material includes modules of fishery related matters: a) International Trade in Fishery Products and the New Global Trading Environment (Training Module II.12) and b) Food Control: Fish as Food (Training Module III.14).
