The United States became the fourth country to formally accept a new World Trade Organization agreement to curb subsidies that have helped deplete ocean fishing stocks, making it the first among large fishing nations to do so. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, “We are proud to be among the first WTO members to accept this agreement, which is the first ever multilateral trade agreement with environmental sustainability at its core.” The agreement took more than two decades to negotiate, and two-thirds of the WTO’s membership (109 countries) must ratify the agreement before it goes into effect.