India joins WTO fish subsidies pact, 900 questions at trade policy review

India's accession to the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies marks a watershed moment in the country's engagement with global trade governance and sustainable development. Adopted at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva on June 17, 2022, after two decades of negotiations, this agreement represents the first multilateral trade deal with environmental sustainability at its core. India formally accepted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on June 26, 2024, becoming one of the early major fishing nations to ratify it. The agreement enters into force once two-thirds of WTO members (109 out of 164) deposit their instruments of acceptance — a threshold rapidly approaching as more countries follow suit. The historical context is crucial: for years, India resisted a blanket prohibition on fisheries subsidies, arguing that developing nations need policy space to support their artisanal and small-scale fishers who constitute the backbone of coastal livelihoods. India's fishing sector employs over 28 million people directly and indirectly, with marine capture fisheries contributing significantly to exports (worth over ₹57,000 crores in 2022-23). The breakthrough came through the "special and differential treatment" (S&DT) provisions that India championed — ensuring that developing countries get a transition period of two years (extendable) to implement disciplines, while least-developed countries (LDCs) are exempt from certain prohibitions. Crucially, the agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; fishing in overfished stocks; and fishing on the unregulated high seas. However, as the article highlights, aquaculture and inland fisheries — which account for over 70% of India's total fish production — are explicitly excluded from the agreement's scope, a major negotiating victory for India. Key stakeholders include the Department of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), which leads WTO engagement; the Department of Fisheries (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying), responsible for domestic implementation; coastal state governments (fisheries is a State subject under Entry 21 of the State List, Schedule VII of the Constitution); and millions of traditional fishers represented by bodies like the National Fishworkers' Forum. The agreement's IUU fishing prohibition aligns with India's obligations under the UN FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (which India ratified in 2019) and Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water), particularly Target 14.6 which calls for prohibiting certain fisheries subsidies by 2020 — a deadline missed globally but now operationalised through this WTO pact. Constitutionally, Article 253 empowers Parliament to make laws for implementing international treaties, while Article 73 extends executive power to matters where Parliament has legislative competence. The Fisheries Subsidies Agreement will likely require amendments to the Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill (pending) and state-level marine fishing regulation acts. The exclusion of aquaculture is significant given that the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), launched in 2020 with an outlay of ₹20,050 crores, heavily subsidises inland and aquaculture infrastructure — a policy space now preserved. Simultaneously, India's Trade Policy Review (TPR) on July 21 and 23, 2024 — the first since 2020 — places India's economic trajectory under the WTO microscope. TPRs are mandated under the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO (Annex 3: Trade Policy Review Mechanism) and occur every 4-5 years for major economies. With over 900 questions submitted by WTO members (a record), the review will scrutinise India's post-COVID recovery (GDP growth averaging 7%+ in FY22-FY24), its Atmanirbhar Bharat and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, agricultural export restrictions (wheat, rice, sugar), digital trade policies, and intellectual property regime. This is a critical moment for India to defend its policy sovereignty while demonstrating compliance with WTO obligations. The broader implications are profound. India's ratification signals leadership in the Global South on sustainable trade, potentially influencing the second wave of negotiations on fisheries subsidies (due by MC14 in 2025) which will address overcapacity and overfishing — areas where India seeks flexibilities. Domestically, it necessitates a robust monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) framework for marine fisheries, including vessel tracking and catch certification. For aspirants, this intersects with multiple UPSC themes: international organisations (WTO dispute settlement crisis, reform), environment (SDG 14, blue economy), economy (export competitiveness, PLI schemes), federalism (Centre-state coordination on fisheries), and governance (treaty implementation). The TPR outcome will shape India's trade narrative ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi (February 2024) and beyond, making it essential to track both the fisheries agreement's implementation and the TPR's concluding remarks.