Addressing a session of the Annual Conference of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) on 25 July, Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard highlighted the significance of the WTO reaching a deal on curbing harmful fisheries subsidies at the 12th Ministerial Conference, making it the first multilateral agreement with environmental sustainability at its core. She asked Chairs of the WCP to urge policy-makers in their respective regions to expedite acceptance of the Agreement so that it can enter into force quickly, allowing members to extend negotiations to disciplining subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing.
