AGREEMENT ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES (AFS) AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE WTO’S CURRENT POSITION IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

The paper includes a consideration of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) signed at the 12 WTO Ministerial Conference, June 2022 in Geneva. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the key provisions of this agreement, as a WTO landmark agreement. Despite many difficulties on the way to its achievement and some shortcomings in the final provisions, the AFS represents a historic achievement. This is because it is the first WTO agreement to focus on the environment and only the second to be achieved within the WTO and adopted by all members since the organization’s creation. Moreover, it represents the first SDG goal achieved and the first SDG goal to be fulfilled through a multilateral agreement. The WTO’s ability to adopt the AFS during the 12 MC was also a test of the credibility of the organization, which accomplished this impressive negotiating feat at a particularly difficult time for both the global economy and the functioning of the institution itself. From the analysis carried out in the study, it can be concluded that the adoption of the AFS has contributed to strengthening the credibility of the WTO and confirmed that it is possible to implement the established priorities even in the face of international tensions. To achieve the objectives of the study, the analytical and descriptive method was mainly used. The considerations were based primarily on source materials and academic studies in the field of international trade policy, as well as data from the resources of the WTO and other international organizations.