Trade Special Measures and Sustainable Development: Implementation of Fisheries Subsidies Agreement

The evolution of international environmental law and the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO Law) led to the adoption of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, creating the nexus between the limitation of trade special measures. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies provided for the implementation of special and differential treatment measures within the framework of the World Trade Organization even if these measures are subsidized. The special and differential treatment measures aim for the economic development of some s ate parties meanwhile the limitation of environment distortion searches to prevent the extinction of the exhaustible natural resources to maintain sustainable development. The ability to pursue economic development by using subsidized fishing activities raises concerns about special measures in the trade-environment agreement. The paper concludes that no economic development is possible when a sustainable environment is endangered. The conditions for implementing the SDT measures under WTO Law are not the same as they are in the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Their implementation in this agreement can contribute to the immediate distortion of marine wildlife without preserving the survival of specimens of the species threatened with extinction. Therefore, the sustainability of special trade measures refers to the ability to continue carrying on development programs that abide by the sustainable requirement.