Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 4 • 3rd March 2006

Norway to Take EU to WTO Over Salmon Antidumping Measures

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The Norwegian foreign ministry on 21 February said it would on 22 March formally challenge the antidumping measures imposed by the EU on its farmed salmon through the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). This move comes after the Council of the European Union on 21 January decided to continue to impose a minimum import price of EUR 2.80 per kg of whole fish equivalent for farmed salmon originating from Norway for five years in response to what they allege is dumping of Norwegian salmon on EU markets. While according to the EU their measures are in accordance with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement WTO rules, Norway claims they violate them and hopes for their repeal through the WTO DSM.

Farmed salmon imports to the EU have been the subject of disputes for a number of years because of losses suffered by the UK and Ireland salmon industries that have been attributed to import competition. In mid-2004, the Commission adopted quotas to safeguard EU producers from Norway, Chile and Faroe Islands imports. Those safeguard measures, however, were revoked in April 2005 and replaced with provisional anti-dumping duties only targeted at Norway ranging between 6.8 percent and 24.5 percent added to the value of Norwegian salmon imports (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 29 April 2005). The change followed complaints by EU salmon producers that Norwegian exporters were engaging in unfair pricing — in particular selling under cost of production — and a confirmation of these complaints by a EU investigation. These ‘ad valorem’ duties, which were collected by the EU at ports, were changed in June 2005 to a provisional minimum import price that requires Norwegian exporters to ship their products above that price, which the EU claims reflects production costs in Norway. Norway has challenged the allegation that export prices are below production costs, saying that the minimum price will make them lose market share in the EU.

“European Commission regrets Norwegian decision to take EU to WTO over anti-dumping measures on Salmon,” EU PRESS RELEASE, 21 February 2006; “Anti-dumping. Norwegian Salmon. Memo,” EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 16 February 2006; “Norway takes salmon row to WTO in surprise move,” EU OBSERVER, 22 February 2006.