On September 15, 2025, the WTO General Council convened a special meeting on the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies the Agreement. Brazil, Kenya, Vietnam, and Tonga—four WTO members—deposited their instruments of acceptance of the Agreement with the WTO, bringing the total number of accepting members over the threshold required under WTO rules and marking the entry into force of the Agreement. Accepting members will commence implementation of its provisions. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated at the meeting that the Agreement’s entry into force represents a landmark for global trade governance and an important public good the multilateral trading system provides in response to global challenges.

The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is a major negotiation outcome achieved by the WTO in recent years. At a time when the WTO faces severe challenges from unilateralism and protectionism, the Agreement’s entry into force demonstrates the firm commitment of the majority of WTO members—including China—to the multilateral trading system. The achievement will bolster international confidence in the system and inject momentum into WTO’s broader agenda.

The Agreement calls for eliminating subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished fish stocks, and fishing on the unregulated high seas area. It further incorporates key fisheries management elements, including fisheries enforcement, resource sustainability assessments, policy transparency, and international cooperation. The implementation of the Agreement will push the WTO members to adopt science-based fisheries subsidy frameworks, enhance fisheries management capabilities, and strengthen fish stock recovery. This will improve global fishery resources, promote global sustainable maritime development, and safeguard biodiversity, fishers’ livelihoods, and food security.

As a responsible developing member and a major global fisheries country, China ratified the Agreement on June 27, 2023, becoming one of the first batch of major WTO members to complete the formal acceptance process. China will earnestly fulfill its obligations after the Agreement’s entry-into-force, to contribute to the sustainable development of global fisheries resources. This will mark a pivotal milestone in China’s participation in the multilateral governance of global fisheries and a major step to deliver on the Global Governance Initiative. The Agreement’s implementation will help make China’s fisheries subsidy policies and management system more scientific, precise, and sustainable, enhance its comprehensive ocean governance capacity, and support high-quality fisheries development.

The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies was originally adopted at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022. The negotiation spanned 21 years, making it the longest mutilateral negotiation in WTO history. As the second entirely new multilateral agreement concluded since the WTO’s establishment 30 years ago, and the first focused on environmental sustainability, the Agreement will play a critical role in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.