Brussels, 17/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 16 July, the European Commission adopted a proposal opening and providing for the management of autonomous Union tariff quotas for certain fishery products for the period 2016-2018.
The proposal, which has to be adopted by the Council, aims to renew regulation 1220/2012, which opened up autonomous tariff quotas for certain fishery products and established their mode of management for the period 2013-2015, for three years.
The European Union supply of certain fishery products relies largely on imports. Over the last 15 years, European Union has become more dependent on imports to meet its consumption of fishery products: the production of the Union covers just 44% of the Union's needs for fishery and aquaculture products. The main purpose of the autonomous trade measures for fishery and aquaculture products is to enable the EU fish processing industry to import third countries' raw materials under reduced or duty-free duties for further processing.
Tariff quota regime found to be relevant
The results of a study confirm that the autonomous tariff quota scheme is relevant to support the EU processing industry by providing the sector with the opportunity to source supply at cheaper prices. It is also consistent. It does not have any detectable negative impacts on the EU production sector, as most of the species covered by the regulation are not produced in sufficient quantities in the Union, or are not produced at all. Overall, the autonomous tariff quota scheme is considered to be effective and efficient. The competitiveness of the EU fish processing sector is ensured, without harming EU producers. The autonomous tariff quota regulation also supports growth and maintains employment in the sector while providing consumers with stable supply at reasonable prices. Every euro in custom duty forgone generates between €2.5 and €3 in added value by the sector.
According to the study, no specific problem is anticipated in the three years' duration set by the regulation. It is a compromise between certainty and the need to revise the regulation to adapt to changing supply conditions.
Loss of revenue
The main impact of the current regulation is to bring about a loss of revenue for the budget of the European Union. The autonomous tariff quotas for fishery and aquaculture products represent a maximum loss of revenue of around €185.5 million per year to the EU budget.
Canadian shrimp
The new regulation modifies one quota. The tariff quota for shrimps and prawns of the species Pandalus borealis, cooked and peeled, for processing, set in the annex at 30,000 tonnes a year, is automatically reduced to 7,000 tonnes a year from 1 January of the year following the year in which the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement between the European Union and Canada enters into force or is applied provisionally, whichever occurs first. (Lionel Changeur)