WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/221
28 June 1999
(99-2710)
General Council Original:  English
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CON FERENCE
Negotiations on Forestry and Fishery Products
Communication from Japan
The following communication, dated 25 June 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Japan.
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1. Proposal
A. Objectives
1. Forestry and fishery products are exhaustible natural resources which are renewable but can
be depleted without proper management. The objectives of the forthcoming negotiations on suchproducts should be to establish a set of rules and disciplines which contribute to the sustainable
utilization of resources through the promotion of  adequate resource conservation and management,
and which are also fair and equitable both for exporting and importing countries.
B. Main points to be taken into account
2. When forestry and fishery products are addressed in the forthcoming negotiations, it is
essential to take account of a wide range of factors related to such products, given that these areexhaustible natural resources.  These factors include consideration of global environmental issues and
of the deliberations and rules of other relevant international frameworks.
(a) Forestry products
3. Forestry resources serve public benefits in various ways. These benefits are maintained and
fulfilled through proper management, including forestry production activities.
4. As forest areas are decreasing on a global scale, there has been a growing awareness on the
global environmental issues since the Earth Summit.  The attainment of sustainable forest
management is one of the important challenges to the world.  In negotiations on trade in forestry
products, careful consideration must be given so that sustainable forest management should not be
hindered.
5. Current trade rules provide insufficient disciplines on trade-distorting measures taken by
exporting countries, such as that regarding export restrictions on logs.  In order to conduct truly
equitable negotiations, a closer examination of these measures is required.WT/GC/W/221
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6. Under such situations, discussions on market access issues should be aimed at establishing
disciplines on those border measures that facilitate the fulfilment of the public benefits of forestry
resources through the maintenance and development of forestry and timber industries in both the
exporting and importing countries.
(b) Fishery products
7. Discussions on the market access issues on fishery products should be aimed at establishing
disciplines on those border measures that do not encourage the fishing activities of flag-of-
convenience (FOC) fleets and which cause an over-exploitation of fish stocks as a result of fishing
operations that ignore resource management measures. Discussions should take into account such
factors as the fulfilment of obligations on fishery resource conservation and management by each
country, the necessity of a stable supply of fishery products, and the roles and functions of fisheriesand fishing communities in the respective countries.
8. The question of fishery subsidies should be addressed as part of a process to identify all the
factors hindering the sustainable utilization of fishery resources, and to seek solutions to ensure such
sustainable utilization of fishery resources. The positive aspects of the fishery subsidies contributing
to the sustainable utilization of fishery resources should be fully recognized. Such work should becarried out by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which has in-
depth expertise on fishery management.  The WTO should then fully consider such work when
discussing how to deal with fishery subsidies.  It should also be noted that other negative factors, such
as an ineffective fishery management and the fishing operations of FOC fleets, are seriously
disturbing the sustainable utilization of fishery resources.  Strenuous efforts should be made toward
arriving at solutions to these problems.
C. Forum for negotiations
9. With respect to forestry and fishery products which are exhaustible natural resources, it is
indispensable to examine all the relevant factors in a comprehensive manner, giving due considerationto the global environmental issues and to the resource conservation and management issues, in order
to ensure a sustainable utilization of resources.  To enable such comprehensive examination, a group
for forestry and fishery products should be established independently from other non-agricultural
products.
2. Background
10. As mentioned above, forestry and fishery resources, which are renewable and exhaustible
natural resources, can be depleted without proper  management. A sustainable utilization of such
resources cannot be achieved if improvement of market access is pursued with only a short-term
economic interest.  We therefore propose that a group for forestry and fishery products be established
independently from that for other non-agricultural products in order to enable conduct of discussions
considering such aspects as global environment issues and resource conservation and management.
A. Forestry products
(a) Public benefits of forests
11. Forestry resources provide various public benefits, including land conservation, water
reservoirs, recreational use and the mitigation of global warming, all of which are essential to humanlife.  This has already been acknowledged in a series of international conferences, namely the
UNCED, the FAO Rome Declaration on forestry, etc.  It has been urged, therefore, to take actions to
deal with those issues.WT/GC/W/221
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12. It is important for Japan, a country where land disasters occur frequently due to its steep
topographical and fragile geological features, to improve a system of land disaster prevention through
the preservation and improvement of forests.  Forests can only fully provide public benefits when
used in a sustainable manner through proper operations, including thinning.  Therefore, appropriate
measures should be taken so as not to hinder efforts aimed at sustainable forestry management,including those to secure public benefits through forestry operations.
(b) Global environmental issues an d sustainable forestry management
13. Since the 'Earth Summit' in 1992, there has been a growing concern on the global
environmental issues.  Sustainable forest management is one of the most important challenges.
14. Forests, especially tropical forests, are rapidly decreasing and degrading, partly due to the
inappropriate commercial cutting.  In order to prevent deforestation and pursue the compatibility ofpreservation and the utilization of forests, exporting countries should make efforts to minimize the
negative effects of the wood products trade on environment through the promotion of a proper forest
management aimed at sustainable forest mana gement and the implementation of appropriate
environmental policies.  In wood-importing countries, it is necessary to maintain a commercially
sustainable domestic forestry and to achieve sustainable forest management even when wood productsare being imported.
15. Considering these aspects of forestry resources, the forthcoming negotiations on forestry
products should deal all together with environmental issues, sustainable forest management and
market access, while at the same time considering the differences in natural and social conditions in
individual countries.
(c) Disciplines for wood-exporting countries
16. Most major wood-exporting countries implement log export restrictions which could violate
Article XI of the GATT, thereby generally prohibit ing quantitative restrictions.  Japan is concerned
that current trade rules provide insufficient disciplines against those measures.  Furthermore, somewood-exporting countries impose discriminatory levies of export tax between logs and the finished
products in order to protect the domestic industry.
17. Taking into account these aspects of wood trade, we should, in order to conduct equitable
negotiations, ensure a balance between exporting and importing countries on their rights and
obligations through examination of not only the impor t tariffs, but also the export restrictions and
export tax.  We should also establish global disciplines for enhancing public benefits of forests
through a sound maintenance and development of the forestry and wood industry in both theexporting and importing countries.
(d) Market access
18. Forestry resources provide public benefits under an appropriate forest management.  Without
proper management, including proper forestry produ ction, forest resources, as well as their public
benefits would be lost, thereby seriously affecting people's lives.
19. Therefore, in discussing disciplines over bord er measures on forest products, we should aim
at promoting the public benefits of forests through a sound maintenance and development of the
forestry and wood industry in each country.WT/GC/W/221
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B. Fishery products
(a) Trade rules contributing to the conservation and management of fishery resources
20. Fishery resources are renewable and exhaustible natural resources, which can be depleted
without proper management.  At present, many fi shery stocks are over-exploited, and approximately
40 per cent of the world fishery products are subject to international trade.  Therefore, with respect to
the trade of fishery products, a framework for negotiations is necessary, which can adequately reflect
the importance of supplementing and reinforcing conservation measures, as well as sustainable
management.  It is appropriate to establish a negotiating group for fishery products independently
from that for industrial products.
21. Trade liberalization without proper resource management measures could lead to an increase
of the international trade of fishery products, which are caught in a manner causing over-exploitation,
neglecting the conditions of the resources concerned or not abiding by the rules for resource
conservation and management.  Based on such perception, trade restriction measures are currently
being taken to ensure the effectiveness of resource conservation and management measures under the
frameworks of international resource management organizations, including the ICCAT (InternationalCommission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas). Some countries take their own trade measures
for similar reasons.
22. Fishery products are a source of valuable animal protein and thus contribute to food security.
The depletion of fish stocks due to over-explo itation throughout the world is threatening their
sustainable supply.  For a stable supply of fishery pr oducts, while ensuring a balanced utilization of all
trophic levels of the ecosystem without protecting specific species in an excessive manner, every
nation should fulfill its obligation of managing resources in its waters and its fisheries, and should also
ensure a stable supply of fish and fishery products to its nationals through its domestic supply as the
basis. When establishing international trade rules, these points should be fully taken into account. In
addition, the roles and functions of fisheries and fishing communities, including the maintenance ofrural coastal communities, the management of coastal areas, the contribution to environmental
preservation and the provision of recreation opportunities to nationals, should also be taken into
account.
(b) Market Access
23. As for tariff and non-tariff measures on fishery products, various factors should be fully
considered, such as the relationship of tariff and non-tariff measures with conservation measures, thefulfilment of obligations on conservation and management by each country, a stable supply of fishery
products, as well as the social, economic and cultural roles played by the fisheries and fishing
communities.
24. International trade rules on fisheries should not encourage the fishing operations of FOC
fleets, which do not bear resource conservation costs and should not lead to over-exploitation whichneglects resource management.
(c) Fishery subsidies
25. The most important issue to be focused on is how to guarantee a sustainable utilization of
fishery resources.  In the first place, therefore, it is necessary to identify all the factors which hindersustainable resource utilization and also to develop measures to deal with these negative factors. Thus,
it is inappropriate to single out the fishery subsidies.  It should also be noted that there are positive
fishery subsidies that contribute to the sustainability of fishery resources, such as those for a reductionWT/GC/W/221
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in fishing capacity, the improvement of fishery management and stock rehabilitation and
enhancement.  These positive aspects of fishery subsidies should be duly recognized.
26. Such work requires technical expertise and should be conducted by the FAO, which has an in-
depth expertise on fishery management.
27. The way to deal with the fishery subsidy issue in the WTO should be considered in the course
of identifying all the negative factors and finding the solutions thereto.
28. It should be noted that an ineffective fishery management, the lack of fishing capacity control,
insufficient enforcement and the operation by FOC fleets that do not abide by international
conservation rules, are the major factors adversely affecting the sustainable utilization of fishery
resources.  All the countries concerned are urged to make strenuous efforts to solve these problems.
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