While there are calls by many in the sustainable development policy community for the multilateral trading system to make further progress, both for the issue areas on the agenda at MC12 and elsewhere, the achievement of the Geneva Package is a laudable milestone. Coming just days before the UN Ocean Conference convenes in Lisbon, Portugal, the new WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsides has drawn a largely favorable welcome from intergovernmental officials, governments, and many NGOs. At MC13, both multilateral and plurilateral initiatives are likely to be sharing the limelight, unlike at MC12, where the attention of the trade community was focused primarily on the multilateral negotiating agenda.
