Fishery issues in the ACPEU negotiations

1
Fishery issues in the ACP-EU negotiations

• Dr. Audun Lem
• Accra, 16 February 2005

2
Outline

• General trade context
• World fish trade
• Net export revenues
• WTO and Fish
• ACP-EU fish trade
• Products and species
• Exporting and importing countries
• Some particular issues in ACP-EU trade
• Duty preferences
• Tuna
• Rules of origin
• Market access quality and safety
• EPAs and FPAs
• Fisheries access agreements
• Fisheries management
• Conclusions

3
WORLD FISH EXPORTS 58 BILLION (2002)

• DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 50 OF WORLD FISH EXPORTS
• 80 OF WORLD IMPORTS BY EU, USA, JAPAN
• NET EXPORT REVENUES FROM FISHERIES CRUCIAL FOR
  MANY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (US 18 BILLION PER
  YEAR)

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World Fish Trade Export Value - in 1000 US -
5
Main exporters 2002 (value)
6
Main species exported in 2002 (value)
7
Net exports from commodities(dev.ing countries)
8
WTO and Fish

• 148 members (99 of trade)
• Uruguay Round Agreements
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
• General reduction in import duties
• Fish import duties 4.5 average in developed
  countries (but much higher in developing c.)
  
• Fish in WTO is not subject to A. on Agriculture
• Doha Development Round
• Fisheries subsidies
• Import duties

9
ACP-EU fish trade (2002)

• ACP exports USD 2.1 billion
• Canned/processed tuna USD 531 Mill. (25 )
• Fish fillets USD 409 Mill. (20 )
• Shrimp USD 355 Mill. (17 )
• Fish chilled, whole USD 159 Mill. ( 8 )
• Fish frozen, whole USD 109 Mill. ( 5 )
• Octopus USD 102 Mill. ( 5 ) (acc. 80)
• ACP imports USD 315 million
• Yellow fin tuna USD 57 Mill. (18 )
• Skipjack tuna USD 53 Mill. (17 )
• Herring USD 51 Mill. (16 )
• Mackerel USD 46 Mill. (15 ) (acc. 66 )
• ACP net exports USD 1.8 billion

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ACP fish exports to EU
11
ACP fish exporters to EU (2002)(16 largest in )
12
ACP fish imports from EU
13
ACP fish importers from the EU (2002) 16 largest
in US
14
Net fish exports ACP/EU(US 1.7-1.8 bill.)
15
West African catches 2002

• Benin 41,000 tonnes
• Cote dI. 80,000
• Gambia 46,000
• Ghana 371,000
• Guinea 104,000
• Guinea-Bissau 5,000
• Liberia 11,500
• Mauritania 78,000 (?)
• Nigeria 83,000
• Senegal 375,000
• Sierra Leone 83,000
• Togo 21,000
• TOTAL 1,300,000 tonnes (min)

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West African Fish Exports(total 2002)

• Senegal US 229 mill
• Cote dIvoire US 140 mill
• Incl. canned tuna 47,000 t / 100 mill
• Mauritania US 94 mill
• Ghana US 92 mill
• Incl. canned tuna 15,000 t / 35 mill
• TOTAL 2002 US 632 mill
• But total 1995 was US 771 mill

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West African Fish Imports (2002)

• Nigeria US 214 mill
• Frozen mackerel 135,000 t - 70 million
• Frozen herring 77,000 t - 38 milllion
• Frozen sardines 76,000 t - 19 million
• Cote dIvoire US 180 mill
• Frozen mackerel 22,000 t - 12 million
• Frozen sardines 48,000 t - 20 million
• Yellowfin tuna 34,000 t - 33 million
• Skipjack tuna 33,000 t - 22 million

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West-African Fish Imports (cont.d.)

• Ghana US 125 mill
• Frozen mackerel 75,000 t - 32 million
• Frozen sardines 19,000 t - 7 million
• Yellowfin tuna 21,000 t - 12 million
• TOTAL 2002 US 553 mill

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Summary 2002West African fish trade

• Imports US 553 mill 863,000 t
• Exports US 632 mill 309,000 t
• Balance US 79 mill -554,000 t
• West African region
• net fish exporter in value
• net fish importer in quantity

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West Africa-EU fish trade 2002

• West Africa exports to EU US 695 mill
• 1995 US 772 mill
• West Africa imports from EU US 201 mill
• 1995 US 174 mill
• Positive trade balance, but
• West Africa is losing market share in EU market

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CENTRAL AFRICAcatch 2002

• Angola 260,000 t
• Cameroon 120,000 t
• Central A.R. 15,000 t
• Chad 84,000 t
• Congo Dem. Rep. 220,000 t
• Congo Rep 43,000 t
• Eq. Guinea 34,000 t
• Gabon 40,000 t
• S.Tome 4,000 t
• Total 795,000 t

22
Central African exports2002

• Angola 15,000 t US 35 mill
• Gabon 2,300 t US 13 mill
• Congo, Rep. 2,000 t US 3 mill
• Total (region) 18,000 t US 52 mill

23
Central African imports2002

• Angola US 18 mill 9,000 t
• Cameroon US 14 mill 44,000 t
• (2000 82,000 t, 2001 99,000 t.)
• Congo Dem.R. US 39 mill 67,000 t
• Congo, Rep. US 12 mill 10,000 t
• Gabon US 13 mill 9,000 t
• Total (region) US102 mill 143,000 t

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Central Africa fish trade balance 2002

• Exports US 52 mill 19,000 t
• Imports US 102 mill 143,000 t
• Balance US -50 mill -124,000 t
• Central African region Net fish importer in both
  value and volume

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Issues with specific relevance for West and
Central Africa

• ACP negotiations with EU
• Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
• including Fisheries Partnership Agreements
  (FPAs)
  
• Fishery access
• Preference erosion

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Background EU-ACP history

• BILATERAL
• Lomé I, II, III and IV
• Cotonou (2000, ACP-EU Partnership Agreement)
• Formal negotiations from late 2002
• EPAs from 2008
• 2000-2007 interim Lomé IV
• Fisheries agreements (17 ongoing from 2001,
  2002, 2003, 2004)
  
• FPAs, 2004 and beyond
• MULTILATERAL
• Uruguay Round 1986-1994
• WTO foundation 1995
• WTO Doha Round, 2001-

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EU MARKET ACCESS FOR FISH

• (worlds largest import market/main ACP export
  market
  
• TARIFF MEASURES/BARRIERS
• NON-TARIFF MEASURES/BARRIERS

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EU tariffs

• EU duties on ACP fish exports
• Zero duty
• Some conditions-requirements
• Rules of origin
• Crew
• Fleet ownership
• EU treatment of other exporters
• LDC zero duty (EBA)
• EU bilateral trade agreements
• EU agreements on canned tuna

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EU tuna import duties

• General rule tuna loins for canning 24
• - but 4,000 tons of loins at 6
• General rule canned tuna 24
• but Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia 25,000
  tons at 12
  
• ACP and LDC zero duty (loins/cans)
• Anti-drug concessions for Central America zero
  duty (loins/cans)

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General Requirements for EU Preferences

• Raw material from beneficiary country or from EU
  fleet
  
• Processed in plants belonging to beneficiary

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EU requirements to ACP exports(Rules of origin)

• Raw material obtained from fishing conducted
  there
  
• Raw material obtained from fishing by ACP or EU
  vessels
  
• Vessel registered in ACP or EU
• Vessel under flag of ACP or EU
• Vessels owned 50 by nationals of ACP or EU, or
  by company with HQ in ACP or EU, and Chairman and
  50 of directors are ACP or EU nationals
  
• For JVs 50 of capital belong to ACP or EU
• 50 of crew nationals of ACP or EU

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Impact of EU rules of origin

• Advantage to EU capital/vessels/crew/EU-owned
  processing plants
  
• Disadvantage to third-country vessels/capital/crew
  /processing plants for exports to EU market
  
• Disadvantage to third-country raw-material for
  processing in ACP countries
  
• Precludes third-country capital from setting up
  capacity in ACP for exports to EU
  

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Fishery Partnership Agreements

• Negotiated from 2002
• 17 existing fishery agreements
• Access agreements
• Total average annual payment Euro 150 million
• Current payments potentially vulnerable to future
  WTO fishery subsidy rules from Doha

34
Preference erosion

• ACP-EU agreements guarantee duty-free access
• Erosion through EBAs, general liberalization,
  bi-lateral concessions
  
• Main product canned tuna

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Strategy to counter erosion

• Longer implementation period
• Compensation for losses
• Change product-mix
• Add value of product
• from canned to more fresh/frozen products
• more to catering sector
• Market diversification
• Major markets low-growth, price-focused
• Growth in China, Asia, non-traditional markets

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NON-TARIFF MEASURES

• FOR FISH MOSTLY RELATED TO QUALITY AND SAFETY
• 24 EU-approved ACP countries
• WTO AGREEMENTS ON SPS AND TBT

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NON-TARRIFF BARRIERS(for fish often more
important than duties)

• Importance of Agreements on
• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues (SPS)
• (these are not on the Doha agenda)

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Market access quality and safety

• Market access only if quality/safety requirements
  to exporters are fulfilled
  
• 24 ACP countries approved for exports to EU
• http//forum.europa.eu.int/irc/sanco/vets/info/dat
  a/listes/ffp.html
  
• EU project for ACP EURO 54 million
• PMU Olivier Ledoux ole_at_cde.int

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CODEX

• International reference standards for food
• Voluntary, but Voluntarism under duress
• Commodity committee on fish and fish products
• (also relevant for fish trade Committees on
  hygiene, veterinary drugs, import/export
  inspection and certification).
  
• Importance of developing country participation in
  CODEX work
  
• Regional co-operation on CODEX

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Subsidies

• Negotiations in WTO
• Classification in red/green boxes
• Implications for access-agreements ?
• ? linked payments
• ? payments for fisheries management
• ? industry development
• Special case SIDS ?

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Access agreements

• Current problems (EC review 2000)
• Multi-year agreements lack flexibility to respond
  to stock-variations
  
• Political/financial concerns in ACP and EU may
  override resource concerns
  
• Quality of data on catches and state of stocks ?
• Inadequate monitoring, surveillance and control
  (MSC)
  
• Conflict small-scale vs. industrial fisheries

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EC response to problems

• FPAs as solution to problems cited
• FPAs integral part of EPAs
• Preserve EU fleet and employment
• Provide support for ACP
• Contribute to sustainable fisheries in ACP
  waters
  
• Linking support to fisheries management

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Suggested ACP Fisheries Response

• Co-ordination among recipients
• Agree framework for use of money from EU
• National and regional plans for
  priorities/needs/implementation
  
• Regional/sub-regional co-operation on MSC/IUU
• Include in access agreements specifics on catch
  reporting/sanctions
  
• Negotiate more flexible rules on Country of Origin

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Conclusions I

• ACP-EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements
• Integral part of CFP
• Emphasis on fisheries management and development
  of sector
  
• Payments for access redefined and redirected for
  specific fisheries-related purposes

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Conclusions II

• Fish trade important to developing countries as
  exports () and imports (food - small pelagics)
  
• ACP has important duty-preferences in EU, but
  these are being eroded
  
• ACP large fish export surplus with EU (1.8-2
  bill)
  
• FPAs fishery access agreements
• Linked payments
• Fisheries management
• Sustainable fisheries
• Any alternative ?
• Goal Long-term sustainability of fish trade
  through improved fisheries management

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THANK YOU