The World Trade Organization’s agreement on fisheries subsidies — its first environmentally focused accord — entered into force on Monday after years of thorny negotiations at a time of heightened international trade tensions.

Agreed by more than 100 WTO members, including the United States, the European Union and China, the agreement sets binding rules requiring governments to consider the legality and sustainability of the fishing activities they subsidise.

“This is the first sustainability agreement of the WTO… It’s a big day,” WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told AFP.

Speaking to diplomats during Monday’s ceremony, she described the event as a “historic milestone”.

“It seems like a dream,” she said. “We have been waiting a long time for today to happen.”

The discussions towards the

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