Iceland's Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, chair of the World Trade Organization's Negotiating Group on Rules, feels confident WTO members can meet the goal of finishing the second wave of fisheries subsidies talks by the 13th Ministerial Conference, which is set to take place in February 2024, the WTO said Feb. 20. Issuing his remarks after "positive consultations with over 30 delegations in recent weeks," Gunnarsson said he also will call four clusters of meetings, dubbed "fish weeks," to boost negotiations. The meetings will be held until July.

Co-sponsors of the World Trade Organization's Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade at a recent meeting discussed developments in efforts to reduce plastic pollution, the WTO said. The co-coordinators said the members' main goal in 2023 is to turn a host of technical information into "concrete, pragmatic and effective" outcomes at the 13th Ministerial Conference, set to take place in February 2024.

Countries participating in the negotiations on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization ramped up efforts to converge on various topics during the Feb. 13-16 meetings and are looking to wrap up talks by the end of 2023, the WTO said. Australia, Japan and Singapore -- the co-convenors of the negotiations -- also welcomed Kyrgyzstan as a new entrant to the talks. Eighty-eight countries are now participating in the e-commerce initiative.

World Trade Organization members decided Feb. 10 at a Trade and Development Committee meeting that the 2023-24 Aid for Trade work program will be focused on "Partnerships for Food Security, Digital Connectivity and Mainstreaming Trade," the WTO said. The committee also heard updates on activities meant to boost trade opportunities for developing countries.

Madagascar launched a safeguard investigation Feb. 11 covering concentrated milk, the country told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards. Along with the investigation, Madagascar imposed a provisional measure on concentrated milk imports. Parties looking to participate in the investigation should contact the National Authority Responsible for Trade Corrective Measures within 30 days from the start of the investigation.

World Trade Organization members held a second round of "consultations" Feb. 8-10 to discuss progress in implementing the work program of the 12th Ministerial Conference Sanitary and Phytosanitary Declaration, the WTO said. The members reaffirmed their commitment to boosting cooperation on addressing the challenges affecting food safety and animal and plant health while also promoting a more effective application of the deal.

World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala voiced the WTO's support of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches, the WTO said. Speaking Feb. 9 at the forum's launch at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the DG said the global trade body is ready to aid the new initiative and ensure a wide group of stakeholders join together to address climate change.

World Trade Organization Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard spoke about a range of trade issues this week, including the fisheries deal struck at the 12th Ministerial Conference and ongoing reform efforts surrounding the dispute settlement panel.

Singapore became the second country to formally accept the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, reached during the 12th Ministerial Conference, the WTO announced. Singapore submitted its instrument of acceptance Feb. 10. To come into effect, the agreement requires two-thirds of WTO members to accept it.

Japan became the first country to contribute to the World Trade Organization's Fisheries Funding Mechanism to help developing countries implement the fisheries subsidies agreement struck at the 12th Ministerial Conference, the WTO announced. Japan's Kazuyuki Yamazaki presented the $686,000 contribution to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Feb. 8.