The recent meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ended without decisions on key issues. They couldn’t find solutions for things like helping farmers keep food reserves and stopping subsidies that harm fishing.
India and a group called G33 tried hard to find a way to help poor farmers and fishermen. But the talks didn’t solve these problems.
Different countries had different ideas. Some, like Australia and Brazil, said helping farmers too much can mess up the market. Others, like Japan and Singapore, wanted to know what to expect from farming rules.
The United States wanted more countries to buy its farm products. The European Union wanted fewer subsidies.
India also wanted countries that fish far from home to stop getting help from their governments for 25 years.
Some countries give their fishermen a lot of money, over $80,000 each, while in India, it’s about $38.
India and South Africa said no to a plan from China about investing, and India said no to a plan from the European Union about industry.
Even though the meeting didn’t solve big problems, it did make some small progress. For example, there are new rules for how countries can regulate services, and two new countries joined the WTO.
It’s clear that different countries have different ideas about farming and fishing, so finding solutions is hard.
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