Financing and Marketing Management

Unit 19 - Trade liberalization and fisheries markets

19.3. Future trends
Further changes in subsidies and seafood legislation are considered to have a positive impact upon the environment by reducing effort and making the users bear the cost of externalities. These positive impacts on the environment as well as trade will however be accompanied by declining access to the poor to the natural assets (fish) and the physical assets (production and processing systems) on the one hand, and to the markets on the other. The reduction in access to livelihood assets is compounded by the state’s increasing withdrawal from its welfare agenda and reduction in social subsidies, which means that for the poor in the export sector, the worst may be yet to come, unless of course suitable safety nets are put in place.
Any new opportunities that liberalization might offer are contingent upon certain basic requirements at the individual level – assured access to resources, ability, skills and knowledge – and also at the macro level – a radical transformation in terms of infrastructure and other basic facilities – which necessarily constrain the poor from taking advantage. Improving information flows, forging stronger public-private relationships, strengthening the capacity of the organizations to engage proactively in formulation of international trade agreements, pleading effectively for a special consideration to developing countries to stand up to the international agreements and keeping the livelihood concerns of the poor stakeholders in the sector at the forefront of any debate are some of the recommendations made to address the negative impacts of trade liberalization.