International Trade and Fisheries Conservation

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International Trade and Fisheries Conservation
Management

• Justin LeBlanc
• Vice President, Government Relations
• National Fisheries Institute

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The National Fisheries Institute

• NFI is a water to table organization
• Fishing vessel owners
• Aquaculturalists
• Processors
• Importers
• Exporters
• Retailers
• Restaurants

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The National Fisheries Institute

• NFI is committed to assisting our members provide
  consumers with safe, sustainable, and diverse
  seafood choices.

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NFI is a Free and Fair Trade Organization

• To the extent that trade is either not free or
  unfair, appropriate mitigating measures should be
  taken.
• NFI is not an appropriate determinant of when
  trade is not free or unfair, such decisions
  should be made by the International Trade
  Commission based on the best information available

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Defensive Data Dump

• The commercial fish and seafood industry employs
  over 170,000 people on more than 123,000 fishing
  vessels.
• Seafood processing, distribution, and wholesale
  operations employ an additional 116,000 people.
• These individuals have nearly doubled their
  contribution to the U.S. Gross National Product
  (GNP) from 16.6 billion in 1990 to 27.8 billion
  in 2000.
• In addition, domestic aquaculture production
  employs approximately 180,000 people and is
  valued at approximately 900 million.

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• From 1990 to 2000, domestic seafood landings have
  remained relatively stable at an average 9.7
  billion pounds valued at 3.5 billion.
• Imports (edible) have increased from 2.9 billion
  pounds worth 9 billion to 4.0 billion pounds
  worth 19 billion.
• Exports (edible) have remained stable at an
  average 2 billion pounds while increasing in
  value from 5.6 billion to 10.9 billion.
• U.S. per capita seafood consumption has increased
  from approximately 11 pounds at the beginning of
  the last century to 15.6 pounds in 2000. A
  record 16.2 pounds was consumed per capita in
  1987.

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Globally, the United States is

• the worlds fifth largest producer
• third largest exporter
• and second largest importer.
• While the U.S. is one of the lowest per capita
  consumers of seafood, in total, the U.S. is the
  fourth largest consumer of fish and seafood
  products.

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Trade as it relates to fisheries sustainability

• Tariffs no direct relationship
• Non-Tariff Trade Barriers positive and negative
  relationships
• Catch Documentation and Certification Schemes
• CITES
• Ecolabeling

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NFI supports Zero for Zero

• In the ongoing WTO negotiations, NFI supports
  reciprocal tariff elimination on a sectoral
  basis.
• The average U.S. tariff on imported fish
  seafood is only around 2
• Exports face considerably higher barriers,
  particularly into the EU and China
• Longer-term phasing for sensitive tariff lines

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Non-tariff trade actions

• Catch documentation and Certification Schemes
• CITES
• Ecolabeling

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Catch Documentation and Certification Schemes

• Some U.S. producer organizations believe that
  imports should be subject to the same
  conservation standards as they are under MSFCMA,
  ESA, MMPA, NEPA, etc.
• Trade actions may supplement but can never
  replace fisheries conservation management
  regimes
• Schemes that impose conservation burdens on
  imports can promote sustainability
  internationally, however

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In order to ensure such schemes are fair and
truly focused on sustainability

• consistent with WTO rules obligations
• multilateral in nature
• with regard to HMS, initiated by the relevant
  RFMO
• As such schemes proliferate, standardization is
  desirable
• Creates incentives towards compliance

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Unilateral actions

• Whether by governments or NGOs (consumer
  boycotts)
• May make consumers feel good about the particular
  fish on their plate, but
• Do little to promote conservation management
  measures as producers shift distribution to less
  stringent markets

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CITES

• CITES has been proposed by some as a useful tool
• CITES lacks expertise in fisheries as well as
  trade in what is essentially a food product
• CITES must defer to the FAO on fisheries before
  it can be considered a useful tool

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Ecolabeling

• The FAO should develop internationally
  agreed-too standards for the certification of
  sustainable seafood
• FAO standards are necessary to ensure
  accountability, fairness, transparency, WTO
  compatibility
• In the absence of FAO standards, private sector
  schemes may
• Set standards too low to the detriment of fishery
  resources
• Set standards too high to the detriment of
  fishing communities and the contribution of
  fisheries to global food security

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NFI and ICFA

• NFI serves as the Executive Secretariat of the
  International Coalition of Fisheries Associations
• ICFA has no position on tariff-related matters
• ICFA supports NFI position on catch documentation
  certification, CITES, and Ecolabeling

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ICFA Members

• Fisheries Association of China
• Japan Fisheries Association
• Federation of Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative
  Associations
• ASEAN Fisheries Federation
• AFF Brunie Darussalam
• AFF Indonesia
• AFF Malaysia
• AFF Philippines
• AFF Singapore
• AFF Thailand
• AFF Vietnam

• Fisheries Association of Iceland
• The Norwegian Fishermens Association
• Korea Deep Sea Fisheries Association
• All Russia Association of Fisheries Entrepreneurs
  and Exporters
• Fisheries Council of Canada
• Australia Seafood Industry Council
• The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council
• National Fisheries Institute (USA)