GLOBEFISH Meet the Expert has the opportunity to interview Mr Strahinja Ivanovic, Fishery Expert in the Rules Division at the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations.

During the interview, Mr Strahinja Ivanovic explained the role of WTO in terms of dealing with international trade agreements and providing technical assistance to Member. He mentioned that for fisheries and aquaculture products, there are measures that apply to them in order to be internationally commercialised worldwide, the most common are tariffs. For these products, the applied tariff is ranged between zero and 30 percent, with an average of 40 percent of binding tariffs. Other non-tariff measures were explained, such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), rules of origin, technical barriers to trade (TBT), among others. Also, Mr Ivanovic expounded the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies recently agreed by WTO Members. The different type of harmful subsidies covered and not covered in the Agreement were mentioned, as well as the process to implement this Agreement by WTO Members.

In the fisheries and aquaculture sector as the Organisation has been supporting countries around sustainable fisheries throughout the entire value chain. He mentioned the joint work and efforts with other bodies in the organisation of important events worldwide, for example, the 4th Oceans Forum on Trade related aspects of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. During the interview, the main challenges of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in terms of international trade and access to market were highlighted. A brief analysis on how tariff measures and non-tariff measures affect international trade of fisheries and aquaculture product was explained.

Strahinja has been with the WTO since 2018, supporting the negotiations of the historic multilateral WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. His work predominantly focuses on issues related to fisheries management and the international law of the sea.

Prior to joining the WTO, Strahinja worked with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the North Atlantic Marine Mammals Commission, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, providing advice related to fisheries policy making.

Strahinja holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in the Law of the Sea, as well as a Master of Science (MSc) in International Fisheries Management from the Arctic University of Norway.