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August 2007 Edition
What's Happening at the FCC
European Union: 2007-2009 Import Quota Regime Established
The EU has finally approved a major revision of its import quota regime for further processing which became effective July 19th. New quotas have been introduced and some of the traditional quotas have been increased. We are pleased to see that two import quotas the FCC actively worked on in 2005/6/7with like minded EU processor associations are included in the changes:
1. Cooked & Peeled Shrimp – increased to 20,000mt from 10,000mt with modified atmosphere processing added as an eligible processing requirement. The FCC formed a coalition with the UK & Swedish industry association and the Dansk Fish association.
2. H&G Herring – decreased the eligible size to 100g from 140 g. Along with the German fish processors association, the campaign was also focused on reducing the size of eligible herring flaps. However, the Irish industry objected to the decrease in the flaps and the eligible size remains 80g. The quota remains for the h&g herring and the herring flaps at 20,000mt at 0% for October 1-December 31 period.
New Import Quotas of Interest
1. Frozen Cod Fillets & Meats - 20,000mt at 0%
2. Frozen Pacific Hake Fillets - 15,000mt at 4%
3. Frozen Rock Sole Fillets - 5,000mt at 0%
Increased Quotas/Reduced Tariff of Interest
4. Frozen Pacific & Silver Hake ( excluding fillets & meats) - 20,000mt at 0%; up from 15,000mt
5. Herring, Spiced/Vinegar Cured in Barrels - 10,000mt at 6%; up from 6,000mt
6. Frozen Surimi - 55,000mt at 0%; up from 30,000mt
7. Frozen Squid Tubes - 45,000mt at 0%; up from 30,000mt
8. Frozen Squid - tariff reduced to 0% from 3%; quota remains at1,500mt
No Change
1. Frozen Cod (excluding fillets & meats) - 80,000mt at 0%
2. Salted Cod - 10,000mt at 0%
Refunds
Products entered since January 1 and charged the full import duty are eligible for refund on a first –come, first –served basis. Application is made to the EU Customs office that released the product.
FCC and The Government of Canada Seek Intervener Status in Supreme Court “Saulnier “Case.
The Fisheries Council of Canada along with the Seafood Producers of Nova Scotia (SPANS), the BC Seafood Alliance, the Canadian Association of Prawn Producers (CAAP) and the Groundfish Enterprise Allocation Group GEAC) are seeking intervener status in the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the Sauliner case. Sauliner is appealing the decision of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal which ruled that the holder of a fishing license’s rights to apply for renewal of the licenses or the reissuance to a designate, coupled with the legal right to resist arbitrary denial qualify as “personal property” under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Personal Property Security Act (Nova Scotia) (PPSA). As such, the fishing license is an asset in a bankruptcy and the proceeds of any disposition of the license may be applied towards the bankrupt’s debts.
The Fisheries Council of Canada supports the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s ruling and will argue that the appeal of this ruling should be dismissed in order to maintain the availability of secured debt financing to the industry’s harvesting sector.
The Government of Canada has sought intervener status to ensure that the interpretation of the words “property and “personal property” regarding the fishing license are construed only in the context of BIA and PPSA. The Government does not want the Supreme Count to expand the ruling and find that a license constitutes property in common law. The Government argues that such an expansion of the ruling would undermine the broad public interest in the proper functioning of the myriad of regulatory regimes enacted by Parliament.
FCC Associate Member, Steward McKelvey, Halifax, is Counsel to the FCC and its participating member associations on the matter.
WTO Negotiations – Ban Fisheries Subsidies
Negotiations in the WTO Doha Development Agenda to ban fisheries subsidies will resume in late September when the Rules Committee Chairman issues his draft text - but so far no consensus exists among members on how far to extend any new discipline.
The Chairman has indicated his draft text will not represent a breakthrough, but will be a strictly technical document - reflecting the lack of consensus.
The proposal on fisheries subsidies tabled by the United States in May has attracted positive attention. Several countries have said they would support using the US proposal as the basis for negotiations, according to a US official. It calls for a broad-based prohibition using a top-down approach in eliminating subsidies. It would provide limited exceptions to the prohibition for programs that do not contribute to overcapacity - such as vessel decommissioning schemes, research for fisheries management, measures to protect marine resources and habitat and social programs for fishermen.
There also have been proposals from other countries, including New Zealand and Argentina. But Japan, South Korea and Taiwan continue to insist on numerous exceptions to the prohibition and have yet to move far off their initial positions.
There is clearly no consensus, the official stated.
Neither has the European Union been very constructive in the negotiations. After initially opposing prohibitions on fisheries subsidies, Brussels moved toward a middle ground in 2004 as it undertook reform of its fisheries policy. But more recently the EU has moved backwards, possibly in response to opposition from some of its newer members. While the EU has been silent publicly about the US proposal, privately it has been telling developing countries the proposal would be harmful to them.
China is another question mark. It has one of the largest fishing fleets but so far has not been active in the negotiations. Beijing just recently began to take interest in the talks, but its position remains unclear, even though it has expressed general support for a subsidies ban, the official stated.
Canada has been relatively silent awaiting developments to determine whether there is any movement in any particular direction. The FCC has advised Canada’s negotiators that our measure of success in any outcome is dependent on achieving a ban on subsidies to long-distance fishing vessels. In terms of fuel costs, etc. it is doubtful whether many vessels from the EU, Russia, Japan, currently fishing off Canada’s East Coast could survive. If the stocks revive, it could be very important if a ban on subsidies to these types of vessels is in place.
However, it appears doubtful that any significant agreement will be reached.
Fresh Meat & Poultry Winning the $87 Billion US Perishable Goods Retail Market
GLOBEFISH Market Summary
August – Key Meetings
Environment Canada’s Species at Risk Advisory Committee, Ottawa
NAFO Government/Industry Advisory Committee, Montreal
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