The EU decision to implement safeguard measures to protect Scottish and Irish Salmon farmers is facing strong opposition from Norway, Chile and the Faroe Islands.
Since February 4, salmon imports from these countries carry a minimum duty of EUR 2.70 per kilogram and could rise to EUR 2.85 from April, according to European Commission Trade spokeswoman Claude Veron-Reville. These measures, which will be in place for four years, operate through a combination of Minimum Import Price (MIP) and a Tariff Quota Rate (TQR).
The permanent restrictions on volume and price imports follow a six-month temporary quota fixed last August on Norwegian salmon imports into the EU at 163,997 tonnes. Svein Berg, managing director of the Norwegian Seafood Export Council, told World Fishing:
"We dispute the basis for the measures adopted by the EU. We don't believe that the causes for implementing the measures are justified. The export prices from Norway are much higher than our cost of production.
"Regarding their effects, we have already experienced that export volume to the EU was only slightly down -- and we believe this is mainly due to the measures. But it is too early to say what the long-term effects will be.
"Currently prices are higher than the MIP but we shouldn't be surprised if market prices for shorter periods drop below the MIP. This will create a serious disturbance in the market. How does the market adjust to such a situation?" he added.
He also stated that restrictions measures imposed to Norway in the past had not been effective and that these meassures were harmful for the long-term dynamics of the fish farming business.
Norway insists that the WTO criteria are not met and have announced its intention to take the case to the WTO authorities. A statement from the Ministry of Fisheries says: 'There has been no serious damage to the EU's salmon industry as a result of the imports of salmon. The problems which a minority of the EU's salmon farming industry have complained about are due to other circumstances, such as the regulatory framework and structural problems for small Scottish salmon farmers.'
Norway accounts for 60 per cent of EU salmon imports.
In Chile, who exports 8 per cent of its production to the EU, the president of the Chilean Salmon Industry Association (SalmonChile), Carlos Vial, called the EU decision 'arbitrary and unjust that completely contradicts the free trade agreement signed between Chile and the EU, violating the warranties it stipulates.' He also called for the WTO to intervene.
