Fisheries Subsidies Chair's text out - Fishing in troubled waters?

Negotiations at the WTO, one of the three pillars of the multilateral trading system along with adjudication and monitoring has been stalled for a while.

However, those interested in following negotiations and the process may be interested in the Fisheries Subsidies negotiations that are underway.

The Chair of the Negotiating Group on Rules releasd a detailed Chair's text for further consideration of the membership. The text is found here. The explanatory notes here.

i was curious on the S and DT provisions considering the recent debates on developing country status inside and outside the WTO.

The S and DT provisions in the Chair's text is as follows:

With respect to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing the S and DT provisions are as follows:

3.8 [The prohibition under Article 3.1 shall not apply to subsidies granted or maintained by developing country Members, including least-developed country (LDC) Members, for low income, resource-poor or livelihood fishing or fishing related activities within 12 nautical miles measured from the baselines for a period of [2] years from the date of entry into force of this [Instrument].]

With respect to  prohibition on subsidies concerning overcapacity and overfishing, the S and DT provisions are here:

[ALT 1 

5.5 (a) The prohibition under Article 5.1 shall not apply to subsidies granted or maintained by LDC Members for fishing or fishing related activities. 

(b) The prohibition under Article 5.1 shall not apply to subsidies granted or maintained by developing country Members for fishing or fishing related activities within their territorial sea. 

(c) The prohibition under Article 5.1 shall apply to subsidies granted or maintained by developing country Members, including LDC Members, for fishing or fishing related activities within their EEZ and the area of competence of RFMO/A if all the following criteria are met: 

i. the Member's GNI per capita exceeds US$5,00012 (based on constant 2010 US dollars) for three consecutive years; 

ii. the Member's share of the annual global marine capture fish production exceeds 2% as per the most recent published FAO data; 

iii. the Member engages in distant water fishing13; and 

iv. the contribution from Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing to the Member's annual national GDP14 is less than 10% for the most recent three consecutive years.]

[ALT 2 

5.5 (a) The prohibition under Article 5.1 shall not apply to subsidies granted or maintained by LDC Members for fishing or fishing related activities. 

(b) The prohibition under Article 5.1 shall not apply to subsidies granted or maintained by developing country Members for low income, resource-poor or livelihood fishing or fishing related activities within 12 nautical miles measured from the baselines [for a period of [7] years from the date of entry into force of this [Instrument]]. 

(c) For subsidies other than those referred to in subparagraph (b), a developing country Member may grant or maintain the subsidies referred to in Article 5.1 for fishing and fishing related activities within its EEZ and the area of competence of a relevant RFMO/A for a maximum of [5] years after the entry into force of this [Instrument]. A developing country Member intending to invoke this provision shall inform the [Committee] in writing before the date of entry into force of this [Instrument]. 

(d) If a developing country Member whose: 

i. share of the annual global volume marine capture fish production does not exceed [0.7%] as per the most recent published FAO data; and

 ii. subsidies to fishing or fishing related activities at sea do not exceed US$[25 million] annually deems it necessary to apply subsidies referred to in subparagraphs (b) and (c) beyond the [7 or 5] years provided for, respectively, in those subparagraphs, it shall not later than one year before the expiry of the applicable period enter into consultation with the [Committee], which will determine whether an extension of this period is justified, after examining all the relevant needs of the developing country Member in question. If the [Committee] determines that the extension is justified, the developing country Member concerned shall hold annual consultations with the [Committee] to determine the necessity of maintaining the subsidies. If no such determination is made by the [Committee], the developing country Member shall phase out the remaining subsidies prohibited under Article 5.1 within two years from the end of the last authorized period.] 

So two alternatives for developing countries to adopt the disciplines. Will this be enough? Is this too much?  Is it the middle path?