What are the key questions that WTO Members will need to answer in the final phase of negotiations on fisheries subsidies? This update provides an overview of the latest version of the draft consolidated text circulated by the Chair of WTO talks on fisheries subsidies, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, on May 11, 2021.

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are currently negotiating new multilateral disciplines to tackle the harmful fisheries subsidies that undermine marine resources, as well as the livelihoods and food security of populations who depend on them. A WTO deal on this issue could constitute a major step in helping steer global fisheries in a more sustainable direction, but for this agreement to materialize, WTO Members need to intensify efforts to build consensus on several key issues.

With a view to supporting this process, this update provides an overview of the latest version of the draft consolidated text circulated by the Chair of WTO talks on fisheries subsidies, Ambassador Santiago Wills of Colombia, on May 11, 2021. It describes the main approaches taken in the draft consolidated text, highlights the key questions remaining for WTO Members' consideration, and indicates how the text suggests these questions could be answered. The brief has been designed to provide all interested stakeholders with a short, clear update on the state of play in WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations and to support WTO Members' engagement in the final phase of the negotiating process.