By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will oppose any curbs on its subsidies to poor fishermen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and demand a moratorium on fishing subsidies from advanced countries including the United States, and the European Union, three government officials said.
New Delhi is planning to push its demand for extending subsidies to its roughly nine million poor fishermen operating up to 200 nautical miles from its coast at the WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), to be held in Abu Dhabi from Feb. 26 to 29, senior government officials told reporters.
In the next round of talks on fisheries, India will demand with like-minded members that advanced countries should agree to a 25-year moratorium on subsidies to their fishing industry operating in international waters, the officials said.
Officials declined to be identified according to government policy on discussions at international forums.
Einar Gunnarsson, chair of the WTO's fisheries subsidies negotiations committee, has said members will work to reach an agreement on the draft for submission to ministers, aiming to curb subsidies contributing to over-capacity and over-fishing.
In 2022, WTO members reached an initial deal to cut billions of subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or fishing of over-fished stocks.
India still has to ratify the agreement, which requires the approval of two-thirds of the WTO's 164 members to become operational. So far, 55 members including China, the U.S. and many African countries have ratified the agreement.
India is likely to ratify the agreement later this year after the general elections, said one of the officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
The commerce ministry, which is leading India's negotiations at the WTO, declined to comment.
Global fishing subsidies are estimated at $35.4 billion, according to a 2019 study published in Marine Policy, and China, the EU, the United States, South Korea and Japan are among the top subsidisers.
Developing nations like India need differential treatment for their fishing industry in coming years, which is largely dominated by poor fishermen, officials said.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Mark Potter)
