The Council adopted today a new regulation for preferential market access (Autonomous Tariff Quotas). The newly adopted regulation grants the EU’s fish processing industry the right to import seafood products not available in sufficient quantities in the EU at reduced rates or duty-free. As a novelty, the EU denies Russia the right to enjoy duty-free treatment for its fisheries products. Europêche supports this position that is in line with the sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sector hopes that this measure applies as well to Russian fishery products processed in other non-EU countries such as Norway or China, later sold in the EU market.

Europêche wished that the Council would have taken such strong stance also regarding the sustainability of the ATQ system. The Commission is building its latest EU fisheries policies proposals under the imperative to tackle a climate and biodiversity crises, resulting in an increasing array of rules and restrictions applying to EU vessels. And yet, the EU gives away free market access for foreign seafood supply under the ATQ system without adhering to the fundamental principles of sustainability, reciprocity and mutual benefit. This paradoxical approach not only undermines the coherence of the proposed policies but also exposes a critical loophole, allowing a lack of accountability in ensuring that global seafood imports align with the sustainability objectives championed within EU borders.

While in 2022 an external study was undertaken on autonomous tariff quotas’ sustainability, absolutely no impact assessment was conducted for this new regulation to check whether ATQs supplies are coherent with the current EU policy initiatives on sustainable sourcing and trade. No sustainability criteria was neither added to the new proposal. While the EU Commission initially proposed a two-year period regulation to integrate some sustainability rules as soon as possible, the Council went back to the usual three-year implementation period.

Daniel Voces, director of Europêche, reminds that: “The European trade policy is our most powerful weapon to achieve fair competition and the promotion of core principles such as sustainability and social fairness in the field of fisheries. Including sustainability in the ATQ system is paramount to safeguard EU’s own fishing interests.”

Javier Garat, president of Europêche, adds that “The 2024-2026 regulation on ATQs was adopted by the Council three months after the proposal from the Commission, which shockingly has not been published at any point of the negotiation. This has never happened and cannot happen. Transparency has been put aside during this process, and with it the principles of democracy, accountability, public participation and trust”.

Regarding the new quotas, hake, flat fish and tuna loins are of particular concern for the EU fleet.

Flatfish quotas in the EU are abundant and absolutely no shortage in raw material occurs. There was no need for the extra supply to the European market and no justification for maintaining an ATQ of 7500 tons. Likewise, the Ukrainian war is impacting the commercialisation of Pacific and Argentine hake, for which the 40 000 tons ATQ mainly benefiting (at 95%) China’s production (Average 2020-2022), was no longer necessary.

Likewise, there was a real need for decreasing the 35 000 tons of tuna loins quotas, which are heavily impacting the European fleet. China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam benefit and receive a 98% allocation of tuna loin quotas. These countries are particularly criticized, considering that they do not respect minimum global standards, far from EU advanced rules, on management and control of fishing activities, working conditions, health and sustainability of resources. It is to be noted that Vietnam was yellow-carded in 2017, still in force at present, and still can enjoy duty-free treatment. Likewise, the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries also heavily criticized flagged Chinese vessels for IUU fishing.

On the market side, the ATQ quota for tuna loins is exhausted on the first days of January each year, namely on January 4th in 2023. This massive entrance of low standards, cheap raw material creates a price distortion, preventing the European fleet to sell its products into the European Union. It is not only the fleet which raised concerns against it. The vast majority of stakeholders within the EU advisory councils for the market and the long-distance fleet advocated to suppress the ATQs for products originating from China, including tuna loins, considering China’s link to IUU fishing and serious labour abuse. West African ACP countries, long-term partners of EU and whose canneries work with EU flagged vessels, also called for a progressive reduction of the tuna loins ATQs.

Javier Garat, president of Europêche, concluded: “The problem is that China’s expanding fishing fleet is depleting the world’s oceans in the very same waters where our vessels operate. Even worse, the unsustainable fish they capture ends up in our market. On top of that, the EU is granting tariff derogations to these products without any reason or merit, other than the low price. This has to stop.”

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 | daniel.voces@europeche.org

Anne-France Mattlet, Europêche Tuna Group Director: anne-france.mattlet@europeche.org

EP Press Release – ATQs

The Council of the EU will shortly approve a regulation setting autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs) for certain fishery products for the years 2021-2023. The ATQ regulation covers species such as tuna, Alaska pollack, cod, flatfish or shrimp for which a relatively high volume can be imported from non-EU countries at a reduced or zero-duty tariff. The fishing industry represented by Europêche and EAPO believe that ATQs are being used in many cases with the sole purpose of getting access to cheap and low-standard fish from foreign fleets which in turn puts pressure on EU producers’ prices and employment. Both organisations call on the EU Council of Ministers to reduce the amount of imported duty-free fish to at least levels set in the European Commission’s proposal¹.

Every two or three years, the EU revise the volume of fish for which custom duties are suspended or reduced, taking into consideration the utilisation rate, the need for a level playing field between EU and non-EU producers, value added and other trade preferences. Following a rather balanced proposal from the Commission, the Council of the EU is significantly increasing tariff quotas and even introducing new species that can benefit from tax derogations. This has not come as a surprise to the fishing industry since, from the beginning, there has been a constant trend to increase the amount of tons exempted from import duties in the EU. While in 1992, only 6 species representing 43,000 tons were granted reduced import duties, the EU will grant zero duty access to more than 20 species representing 810,000 tons, compared to 750,000 tons in the previous regulation.

The EU catching sector is not opposed to a rational tariff free setting for certain fishery products that are not sufficiently produced in the EU. However, in light of the negative socio-economic consequences of ATQs for the EU fishing industry, this instrument cannot be intended to foment imports from non-sustainable sources nor to put pressure on EU producers’ prices.

Javier Garat, President of Europêche, declared: “The same story repeats revision after revision. The Council only listens to some EU processing companies that want to get access to cheap fish from non-EU countries regardless of the origin or way of production. The increases in volume of duty-free fish works to the detriment of EU producers who have to comply with the highest standards of sustainability. Why demanding so much to our fishermen when the EU opens a back door for non-EU products without even questioning their sustainability? Only yesterday, the Council committed to ensuring a fair income and strong support for primary producers under the farm to fork strategy. The new ATQ Regulation is therefore a step in the wrong direction. The EU should work towards achieving a true level playing field in practice, and not just on paper, between EU produced and third country produced seafood.

Mr Pim Visser, President of EAPO, declared: “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fishermen are facing extremely low prices and the quantities of unsold catches for certain species is rising. Already 60% of the fish consumed in the EU comes from outside our borders. Subsidising additional fish imports from non-EU countries would not only increase Union market’s dependence on fish imports but also put further pressure on prices and leave our companies out of business. Fishers feel abandoned by an EU that puts so much emphasis on the sustainability of EU products but so little on imported fish.”  

[1] Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION opening and providing for the management of autonomous Union tariff quotas for certain fishery products for the 2021-2023 period COM(2020) 322 final

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces de Onaíndi, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 daniel.voces@europeche.org

Emiel Brouckaert, Secretary General of EAPO: +32 59 43 20 05  info@eapo.com

EP and EAPO Press Release – ATQs

The new Director agreed with the fishing industry’s claim for better positioning fisheries in the EU Green Deal and in the Farm to Fork Strategy. While supportive of the Green Deal goals as such, Europêche and EAPO objected against setting unrealistic and very harmful objectives, such as fencing-off 30% of EU seas as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or phasing-out bottom trawling. The industry pointed in this context to the recent positive FAO report that shows that about 80% of the fish consumed worldwide comes from sustainable stocks. In the EU, according to the Commission’s latest communication, more than 99% of the landings in the Baltic, North Sea and the Atlantic managed exclusively by the EU will come from sustainably managed fisheries in 2020. The importance of seafood for a healthy, low carbon footprint diet was underlined and this meant that seafood should be promoted in the Farm to Fork strategy.

EAPO and Europêche reflected on the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. Europêche president Javier Garat emphasised that: “We continue fishing through the crisis to provide sustainable healthy food to the consumers, but the drop in demand and prices has not recovered and the upcoming economic crisis will affect markets and our sector for a considerable time to come”. The mitigating measures taken by the Commission were welcomed by the industry and who pleaded for a rapid unlocking of €500 mln additional fisheries funds.

Other central topics were discussed such as the ongoing revision of the control regulation. EAPO and Europêche underlined the need for a simpler regulation with less administrative burden. Also the increased use of marine space by MPAs and windfarms led to the sector’s call for support of the Commission to guarantee continued fishing activities at sea for ensuring food security and supporting coastal communities across Europe.

Europêche and EAPO asked the European Commission to make life easier for fishermen since they have to face far too many regulations and bureaucracy of such complexity that hampers daily fishing operations. In this context, the fishing industry called on the Commission to be sensitive and as flexible as possible in the implementation of the newly adopted multi-annual plan for the western Mediterranean in a way that does not aggravate the socio-economic consequences caused by this pandemic. Furthermore, both organizations have proposed DG Mare to eliminate the regime of the autonomous tariff quotas (ATQ) for tuna loins at zero-duty tariff because it has been demonstrated that there is enough raw material available that this ATQ distorts the tuna market. In this sense, the sector also informed the new DG about the importance of guaranteeing the level playing field to ensure the competitiveness of the EU fleet.

On behalf of the industry, EAPO president, Pim Visser invited Ms. Vitcheva: “To visit one of our ports and see all the aspects of the food supply insured by the fishing industry”. Follow-up meetings to exchange views will also be welcomed.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32 (0)2 230 48 48 rosalie.tukker@europeche.org  

EP and EAPO Press Release – New Director General of DG MARE