Export of fish to the EU

There are various agreements with the EU which govern the tariff rate.

The preferential trade in fish and seafood with the European Union is mainly governed by multiple sets of agreements:

• Protocol 9 of the EEA Agreement of 1994;
• The so-called "fisheries letter" from 1973, as subsequently amended;
• Additional agreements to the Trade Agreement of 1973 (The Compensation Agreements);
• GATT quotas
• Autonomous quotas

The EEA Agreement is the most important agreement that governs cooperation between Norway and the EU.

The regulations of the EEA Agreement that govern trade in fish and seafood can be found in Protocol 9, whereas the rules of origin are laid down in the PEM Convention. Please note that rules of origin concerning the "Fishing Letter" has other rules than the PEM Convention. Among others, the Captain, the officers and at least 75 % of the crew must have Norwegian or EU citizenship.

Information about country of origin

If you want to use the autonomous quotas in the EU and/or the WTO (GATT) quotas for fish and other seafood, it is the EU's national non-preferential rules of origin that apply.

• The Norwegian Seafood Council provides an overview of tariff quotas and remaining balances

Preferential tariff treatment shall be confirmed in accordance with the following guidelines:

If one of the quotas laid down in one of the compensation agreements or the Fishing Letter is used, "Norway" shall be stated as country of origin. If the quota at the time of import has been exhausted, the EEA preference will be approved. If Protocol 9 to the EEA Agreement is used, and "EEA" is stated as country of origin, only the preferential rate that applies to the EEA will be granted.

EEA preference will be granted once a bilateral tariff-free quota has been exhausted and Norway has been declared as the country of origin in the proof of origin.

"EEA/Norway" cannot be used as country of origin.

The European Union has provided tariff-free quotas for fish of Norwegian origin in the compensation agreements. There are no quota limits in accordance with Protocol 9, but there is a reduction in ordinary customs duty for individual fish species.