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RI in no hurry to ratify WTO deal on fisheries subsidies
Indonesia is not rushing to ratify a Word Trade Organization agreement against subsidies in the fisheries industry, ministries say.
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Caught in the act: Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) personnel intercept two Vietnamese fishing boats allegedly poaching in Natuna waters in Riau Islands on Oct. 2, 2020. (Kompas.com/Hadi Maulana)
W
hile 11 countries have formally accepted an agreement against subsidies in the fisheries industry, Jakarta is “in no rush” to ratify the World Trade Organization deal, according to the Trade Ministry, not least because of next year’s election.
"Considering the reality of the political year, we shouldn't rush into things, [just for things to be] countered by a new legislature with a new agenda," the Trade Ministry's director general of international trade negotiations, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
At the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC) in June 2022, WTO members adopted the fisheries subsidies agreement (FSA), which needs to be ratified by two thirds of the WTO member countries to enter into force.
As of today, only 11 countries of 160 WTO member countries have ratified the FSA.
Read also: Government braces for possible WTO case over ban on bauxite exports
The Trade Ministry further explained that the ratification process had taken four years before it was finally adopted in 2017.
Considering this lengthy timeframe, the government emphasized its preference to “focus on internal discussions with the ministries and wait for the legislative changes” before submitting the bill to the House of Representatives and moving forward with the ratification process.
