Thanks for the useful summary. A slight nuance is important to build in to the account of the Fisheries Subsidies negotiations. It is true that India used its relative geopolitical weight to engage in brinkmanship, but this has to be seen in the context of the text that was on the table (W20).
India had long made clear that it needed to see more flexibility on SDT for subsidies where ovefishing or overcapacity is occuring, not least because of the millions of small scale fishers who punch well above their economic weight politically. Indeed, India stated this in no uncertain terms two weeks before MC12 in 'Fish Decision Week'.
This is why I was so suprised to see no concessions to India in the text presented to ministers for MC12. From this perspective, India's reaction was not an unreasonable one of holding the WTO to ransom but a rational response to the unwillingness of the developed countries to find a way to work with India's demands.
Thanks for the useful summary. A slight nuance is important to build in to the account of the Fisheries Subsidies negotiations. It is true that India used its relative geopolitical weight to engage in brinkmanship, but this has to be seen in the context of the text that was on the table (W20).
India had long made clear that it needed to see more flexibility on SDT for subsidies where ovefishing or overcapacity is occuring, not least because of the millions of small scale fishers who punch well above their economic weight politically. Indeed, India stated this in no uncertain terms two weeks before MC12 in 'Fish Decision Week'.
This is why I was so suprised to see no concessions to India in the text presented to ministers for MC12. From this perspective, India's reaction was not an unreasonable one of holding the WTO to ransom but a rational response to the unwillingness of the developed countries to find a way to work with India's demands.