WTO curbs on fishing subsidies are only the second multilateral agreement on global trade rules struck in its 27-year history. Since even a single vote of dissent can scupper a deal, this was impressive. The inclusion in trade talks of ecological concerns like the threat posed by large-scale overfishing to marine life had once raised eyebrows, but last week’s deal confirmed acceptance of it. Our stance on this issue was both defensive and justified. In contrast with the state-supported fishing industries of rich nations, our 9 million odd fisherfolk cannot be accused of global fish stock depletion. Under the Geneva deal, our subsidy support for fishing at current levels can carry on for at least four years; a proposed ban on subsidized overfishing was dropped, though New Delhi did agree not to subsidize any operators engaged in “illegal, unreported and unregulated" fishing or in the exploitation of overfished stock. A 25-year carve-out on state funding for infrastructure and large-scale operations beyond territorial waters was too much of an ask, and the WTO made no space for it. Another clutch of Indian demands on food, including the right to mop up foodgrain to feed the needy, has been pushed forth to the next ministerial meeting.
Our most noteworthy win was on a proposal India had pushed along with South Africa. We now have a patent waiver window of five years to make and export covid vaccines. While this is rather late in the day, may not do much to fix vaccine inequity, and leaves therapeutic and diagnostic stuff for later talks, it also signifies a WTO dilution of its position that any easing of intellectual property protection would hurt pharma incentives for innovation. The pitch that saving lives should be top priority during a health crisis prevailed, at least in principle, and that’s remarkable. In the end, however, our gains were important but not dramatic. While commerce minister Piyush Goyal and his team can be credited for outcomes that have come as upside surprises, a big part of Geneva’s success in converging views must go to Okonjo-Iweala’s leadership. The former finance minister of Nigeria minimized scope for grandstanding, making it clear she didn’t want a “diktat forum" but one for negotiations, and drew attention to interests of the developing world in a manner rarely seen before. None of the mini deals struck qualify as big fillips for international trade. But in a fractured world faced with huge challenges of cooperation, she helped open up paths of possibility. We should all be glad for it.
