WTO’s Dual Fronts: Tackling Harmful Fisheries Subsidies and the E-Commerce Duty Dilemma

In the labyrinthine world of global trade negotiations, the WTO is grappling with two pressing issues that encapsulate the tensions between economic growth, environmental sustainability, and digital equity: fisheries subsidies and the moratorium on customs duties for e-commerce. As the WTO inches towards implementing its landmark Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted in 2022, debates rage over whether to perpetuate the long-standing ban on tariffs for electronic transmissions. These parallel tracks highlight the WTO’s struggle to remain relevant in a fractured multilateral landscape, where developing nations push for fairer rules amid climate crises and digital divides.

The fisheries subsidies agreement represents a rare victory for environmental advocates in the trade arena. For decades, government handouts to fishing fleets estimated at $22 billion annually have fueled overfishing, depleting ocean stocks and threatening the livelihoods of millions in coastal communities. The deal, forged at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva, targets the most pernicious subsidies: those supporting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as aid for fleets targeting already overfished stocks. It also includes provisions to curb subsidies for distant-water fishing, often dominated by industrial powers like China and the EU.

As of this month, the agreement is tantalisingly close to activation. Sri Lanka became the latest to ratify on 6 August, leaving just four more acceptances needed from the WTO’s 164 members to reach the two-thirds threshold required for entry into force. This follows a flurry of ratifications, including Argentina’s in July, and Zambia’s earlier that month. Once operational, the pact could mark the first WTO agreement with environmental sustainability at its core, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 to eliminate harmful subsidies by 2020—a target missed but now within sight.

Yet, implementation hurdles loom. Developing countries, home to vast artisanal fishing sectors, have secured special and differential treatment, allowing temporary exemptions for subsidies within their exclusive economic zones. Critics, including environmental NGOs like Oceana, argue this could create loopholes, especially without robust transparency mechanisms. Meanwhile, negotiations on a “Fish 2” phase addressing overcapacity and overfishing subsidies continue, with members briefing on progress in May. The WTO’s Fish Fund, launched to aid poorer nations in compliance, has begun calling for proposals, underscoring the need for capacity-building in the Global South.

Parallel to this oceanic saga is the e-commerce moratorium, a policy dating back to 1998 that prohibits customs duties on electronic transmissions think software downloads, streaming services, and data flows. Extended at MC13 in Abu Dhabi last year until 2026, the

moratorium has been hailed by tech giants and developed economies as a cornerstone of the digital economy, preventing tariff barriers that could stifle innovation and raise costs for consumers. Industry groups, including the International Chamber of Commerce, warn that its lapse could introduce uncertainty, fragmenting global supply chains and hitting small businesses hardest.

However, opposition is mounting, particularly from developing countries like India, South Africa, and Indonesia. They contend the moratorium deprives them of vital revenue potentially billions in forgone tariffs—as digital trade booms. A 2024 study by the UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated that ending the ban could generate up to

$10 billion annually for low-income nations, aiding infrastructure and digital inclusion. At a WTO workshop in May, members debated the moratorium’s scope, with calls for technology transfer and digital industrialization to bridge the North-South gap. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has urged industry to “push hard” for renewal, acknowledging the political headwinds.

What links these seemingly disparate issues?

Both exemplify the WTO’s evolution from traditional trade barriers to regulating global commons—oceans and cyberspace. In negotiations, they’ve often been bundled: at MC12, fisheries breakthroughs coincided with e-commerce extensions, reflecting package deals in a consensus-driven body. Emerging powers like China and the BRICS nations play pivotal roles, balancing offensive interests in e-commerce (as digital exporters) with defensive stances on fisheries subsidies. Yet, this linkage also reveals fractures. Developing countries resist accelerated talks without addressing asymmetries, echoing broader WTO reform demands.

Critics from the Third World Approaches to International Law perspective argue the fisheries deal, while progressive, still favours industrial fleets and overlooks colonial legacies in ocean governance. Similarly, the e-commerce moratorium is seen as perpetuating digital colonialism, where Big Tech reaps benefits while poorer states subsidize infrastructure without recompense.

Looking ahead, the fisheries agreement’s imminent entry could bolster WTO credibility, especially if “Fish 2” delivers on overcapacity by MC14 in 2026. For e-commerce, the moratorium’s fate hangs in the balance; non-renewal could usher in “online tariffs,” reshaping digital trade but risking fragmentation. As climate change intensifies ocean degradation and AI accelerates digital disparities, the WTO must navigate these waters deftly. Failure risks irrelevance; success could reaffirm multilateralism’s role in a sustainable, equitable future.

Author: Sakshi Kothari is an Assistant Professor of Law at ICFAI University, Dehradun, with expertise in WTO law, trade policy, and cross-border transactions.