India and Brazil accused of blocking progress at WTO talks with radical positions

“Radical positions” taken by a number of countries, including India and Brazil, are endangering the prospects of a World Trade Organization deal on curbing subsidies that lead to overfishing and overcapacity in national fleets, according to Daniel Voces, the managing director of E.U. fishing representative body Europêche.“Already in 2017, India sabotaged WTO negotiations,” Voces told SeafoodSource, referencing India’s opposition to an agreement put forth at the 11th Ministerial Conference in December 2017. “Back then, India blocked everything, even a possible agreement on the elimination of subsidies that drive illegal fishing.”According to Voces, as a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), India also objected to “fundamental resolutions” at the IOTC’s most recent meeting, namely resolutions 13/02 on maintaining vessel records, 13/03 on recording catch and effort data, 13/06 on shark conservation, 13/07 on licensed foreign vessels record-keeping, and resolutions 19/01 ...