Brussels, 20/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - As we announced, the European Union and Norwegian salmon producers have reached an "amicable agreement" on imports of salmon into the EU. The European Commission, which led the negotiations, announced on Friday that both sides had reached the following solution: Norwegian producers agreed to the introduction of a minimum import price: set for the time being at €2.81 a kilo for fresh salmon. This price, which is intended to reflect Norwegian production costs, can be adjusted depending on market developments. These measures could be made definitive, for a period of five years, once the Commission has finished its investigation into salmon being sold at a loss. "Unlike additional customs duty, setting a minimum import price will add no additional costs to the Norwegian exporters, who will respect this price", said the Commission, adding: at the same time, "this will simply and transparently assure that Norwegian producers do not sell their products at a price which is lower than their production costs".
The Commission has long been accusing Norway, whose exports to the Union represent 60% of the market, of selling its salmon on European markets at a price which is lower than production prices. At the beginning of the year, therefore, it decided to invoke a safeguard measure (a minimum import price for salmon into the EU and tariff quotas). Norway, in protest against this anti-dumping measure, threatened to launch a procedure at the WTO. On 27 April, the Council of Ministers of the EU decided to revoke these measures and replace them with additional customs duty in the order of 16%.