The AIPCE-CEP has sent a letter to the European Commission calling for the lifting of trade sanctions on Russian seafood by January 1, 2025.

As previously reported by UCN, the European Commission has added a new clause to the draft Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) system for imported seafood for 2024-25, abolishing the import qualification of seafood from Russia and Belarus.

"Since July 2014, the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures on the Russian Federation. In its conclusions of 24 February 2022, the European Council stated that Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine constitutes a serious violation of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and undermines European and global security and stability."

In view of the deterioration of relations between the EU and Russia, and in order to ensure that its actions and principles in the field of external action are consistent with those of the EU, the Commission considers that "it would not be appropriate to allow duty-free treatment of products imported from the Russian Federation falling within the scope of this regulation".

However, AIPCE-CEP stressed that "our market is highly dependent on Russian fish imports, both as a raw material for direct processing in the EU and as an intermediate processing supply source for other third countries, such as China." It is worth noting that, for a variety of reasons, the European Commission deliberately made the decision to exclude basic foods from the initial sanctions. It is motivated by concerns about food security and the impact of sanctions on inflation, the cost of food for the end consumer, especially for lower income households and the overall cost of living."

"While we fully understand the rationale behind the Commission's proposal, we must stress that any transition to alternative raw materials in any supply chain will take time and will impact the ability of this industry to access essential products." We believe that any significant changes to a well-established supply chain need to be implemented gradually to reduce market distortions and the burden on consumers." Aicpe-cep said.

"If the proposed sanctions on Russian seafood are adopted, we call for a one-year transition period to allow the value chain to adapt to significant market changes by adding a provision exempting Russian seafood from sanctions until January 1, 2025."

"As of now, the most recent data we have are from 2022. It is important to emphasize that industry and policymakers need access to up-to-date and complete information to make informed choices and develop strategies that best serve their interests. Large quantities of Russian fish enter the EU after initial processing in China, and these figures must be taken into account when drawing conclusions about import dependence." Aicpe-cep emphasized.

Under the autonomous tariff quota system, the EU imports 340,000 tonnes of pollock fillets, decapitalization (H&G) raw materials, and surimi products each year and enjoys zero tariffs. Without ATQ, the import duty for fillets and H&G is 13.7% and for surimi 14.2%.

In addition, 110,000 tons of cod H&G and 50,000 tons of cod fillets are exempt from ATQ tariffs, without ATQ, H&G cod tariffs are 12% and fish fillets are 7.5%. 3,500 tonnes of haddock H&G are exempt from ATQ and the tariff for this species (H&G and fillets) is 7.5%.