Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE ON TRADE IN FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS BETWEEN EU AND
CANADA
JULY 2009
Introduction
In April 2009, the Council of Ministers authorised the European Commission to open
negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.
This will include agreement on market access for fishery products and services and
investment as well as trade rules/regulatory cooperation on issues such as intellectual
property rights, public procurement, competition and sustainable development. The first
round will take place in October 2009 in Canada.
The following questionnaire has been prepared to give the fisheries sector the opportunity
to provide us with information that will help the Commission establish priorities and take
decisions throughout the negotiating process. The Commission, subject to the application of
the EU's rules on access to documents, will treat the information that you provide as
confidential. EU rules on access to documents allow the Commission to withhold access to
a document where disclosure would undermine the commercial interests of a natural or
legal person or harm the EU's relations with third countries, unless there is an overriding
public interest in disclosure. Please indicate clearly if this is the case in your reply.
For each question and as far as it is relevant, please provide an answer.
In addition, where possible, we would appreciate receiving quantification of your interest,
prioritisation within sectors and your recommendation for solutions where you identify a
problem.
The questionnaire will be included on Directorate-General Trade's web page for
consultations of civil society. You are invited to reply to the questionnaire by
30 September 2009.
Contact:
Miriam Garcia Ferrer, Clare Murphy– DG Trade F3
Tel. + 32 2 298.10.02, +32.2.299.39.45 ([email protected];
[email protected])
Background information
Trade
During the period 2006-2008, the EU exported to Canada an average of 7.658 tonnes per
year of fish and fishery products worth €25 million. During the same period, Canada
exported 80.702 tonnes of fish worth on average €344 million. The trade balance is clearly
in favour of Canada as regards fisheries trade with the EU, consisting of €320 million.
Canada's main exports to the EU consist of prepared and preserved shrimps and prawns, as
well as frozen shrimps and prawns, which represent together nearly 30% of their total
exports to the EU. Other important exports were fresh or chilled hake, frozen mackerel,
frozen and live lobsters and prepared and preserved salmon. The EU exported to Canada
mainly saltwater fish (fresh, chilled and frozen), fresh or chilled Pacific salmon, frozen
herrings and flours, meals and pellets of fish, crustaceans or molluscs.
The EU maintains MFN applied tariffs on fish and fishery products averaging 10.6% (with
a maximum of 26%) whereas Canada's average MFN applied tariffs are only 0.9% (with a
maximum of 11%). It is clear that the EU has very favourable access to the Canadian
market and not much possible improvement to be achieved for fishery products; however,
there are other areas of interest to the sector where (investment and services) where there is
much to be gained.
In relation to Non-Tariff Barriers, Canada maintains a number of laws and regulations (at
Federal and/or Provincial level) related to fish. As an example, in some Provinces the
authorities have powers to issue licenses for the sale and/or purchase of raw fish and, to
issue licenses for the processing of fish, to allow for the movement of fish to another
Province or to a third country, or to ensure that fish is processed by local companies only.
Investment
The EU is Canada's second-largest source of foreign investment. As of 2007, the EU's
direct investment stock in Canada reached EUR 160 billion, while Canada's investment
stock in the EU was worth EUR 108 billion, making it our fourth largest source of foreign
investment.
Canada maintains a number of restrictions on investment in the fisheries sector. The main
constraint is the policy that fishing enterprises having a foreign ownership level of more
than 49% are prohibited from holding Canadian commercial fishing licenses. The policy
does permit minority ownership of Canadian fish harvesting companies by foreign
investors. However, majority ownership would require the forfeiture of any existing
licenses held by that company. While there is no limit on foreign ownership of fish
processing companies that do not hold a fishing licence, Canadian fish processing
companies which have more than 49% foreign ownership are not permitted to hold
Canadian commercial fishing licences.
Other issues related to investment in the fisheries sector concern the powers of authorities
in some Provinces (e.g. licensing of processing activities, collective bargaining systems,
etc).
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Services
Liberalisation of trade in services could substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
gains (50% of the total gains for the EU, and 45.5% of the gains for Canada);
With regard tio access to services it is important to underline that under the Coastal
Fisheries Protection Act, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is responsible for
controlling the activities of foreign fishing vessels in Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone,
including access to Canadian ports (port privileges). In general, the Department grants such
port privileges, including the purchase of fuel and supplies, ship repair, crew exchanges and
transhipment of fish catches, only to fishing vessels from a country with which it has
favourable fishery relations, based primarily on adherence by that country to Canadian and
international conservation practices and policies. Exceptions to this general rule are
permitted in cases of emergency ("force majeure") and where the specific provisions of
bilateral fisheries treaties apply.
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I. TRADE IN FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS
(Please note questions under headings I, II and III also apply, mutatis mutandis,
to aquaculture products and/or the aquaculture industry)
1) General
a) Please indicate your area of business (ship-owner, fisherman, importer, exporter, processor,
etc.)
b) What is your interest or potential interest in trade in the fisheries sector between Canada and the
EU?
c) How do you assess Canada's export potential for fish and fishery products?
d) Please specify your overall offensive interest, i.e, what kind of fish and fishery products would
you like to export to Canada1?
e) What is your defensive interest, i.e. what kind of fish and fishery products are sensitive for EU
stakeholders1 in our trade relations with Canada?
f) Have you encountered any non-tariff barriers to export of fish and fishery products to Canada?
If so, please specify.
g) Could you provide your priorities (ranked) for your business sector in Canada? Please indicate
the criteria you apply to determining priorities: Import duties as well as non-tariff barriers and
measures? Trade volume to Canada? Trade volume to comparable countries? Economic cost of
a barrier?
h) How important is it in your sector to be able to give assurances about the sustainability
(especially social and environmental) of conditions throughout the supply chain, and what
issues arise in relation to Canada?
i)
Are you interested in establishing a commercial presence in the fisheries sector in Canada?
Have you experienced any barriers to establishing a commercial presence in the fisheries in the
past? If so, please specify
2) Questions related to tariffs
a) Please describe your interests with respect to the tariff dismantling for Canada: (1) priorities per
tariff line for frontloading (i.e. early tariff elimination); (2) backloading (tariff elimination over
a transitional period); and (3) interconnections with other trade areas (e.g. rules of origin;
safeguards; removal of non-tariff barriers).
b) Do you have problems of tariff classification? If so, please specify.
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if possible, please indicate the tariff line of the Combined Nomenclature (Official Journal of the
European Union, L 291, 31 October 2008, available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu
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3) Questions related to export restrictions and prohibitions
a) Do you face export restrictions with respect to Canada? If so, please indicate the type of
restriction(s) (export prohibitions, export duties, VAT rebate schemes; licensing; discriminatory
promotions schemes)? Please indicate the importance of elimination of such restrictions and
prohibitions.
4) Trade facilitation (import, export, transit procedures and internal market in
Canada)
Please respond with yes/no and where possible provide comments to expand on the replies to the
following:
a)
Have you experienced general problems with import, export, transit procedures and
requirements in Canada, including when landing fish products in Canadian ports?
b)
Have you experienced problems when marketing fish products inside Canada (e.g. across
Provinces)?
c)
Have you experienced specific problems related to:
- transparency/publication of and access to trade regulations
- documentary requirements
- data requirements
- fees and charges
- inspections and controls during clearance
- other customs procedures
- discriminatory treatment
- lack of uniformity in application of procedures
- customs valuation
- co-ordination between different border agencies or between Provincial authorities
- use or non-use of information technology
- application or non-application of relevant international standards
- procedures for legal recourse/appeal
5) Questions related to discrimination and transparency in domestic regulation and
taxation
a) Is your sector faced with discriminatory measures and practices between domestically produced
goods and goods imported into Canada? If so, could you describe the nature of this
discrimination (is it based on a legal act or is it de facto discrimination? Does it concern
domestic regulation and/or taxation regime?) and provide documentation?
b) Do you encounter problems due to lack of transparency e.g. lack of publication of legislation or
other documents relevant for your trade behaviour?
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II. INVESTMENT IN THE FISHERIES SECTOR
Questions related to investment
a) Do you have you an interest in investment in the fisheries sector in Canada? If so, please
specify.
b) Have you experienced any difficulties in accessing investment opportunities in Canada
at Federal or at Provincial level? What kind of difficulties and how do you think the
agreement with Canada should address these?
c) Please give your assessment of the situation for EU operators or investors in relation to
investment in the fisheries sector in Canada. Please specify whether you have
encountered difficulties in relation with:
– formal restrictions on foreign equity or foreign ownership limitations;
– limitations on the movement of personnel;
– residency requirements for members of boards/senior management;
– non-transparent ownership and control conditions;
– Canadian (Federal/Provincial) competition law as it relates to investment.
III. SERVICES IN THE FISHERIES SECTOR
Questions related to services
a) Do you have you an interest in services in the fisheries sector in Canada? If so, please
specify.
b) Have you experienced any difficulties in accessing and/or providing services in Canada
at Federal or at Provincial level? What kind of difficulties and how do you think the
agreement with Canada should address these?
c) Please give your assessment of the situation for EU operators or services providers in
relation services in the fisheries sector in Canada. Please specify whether you have
encountered difficulties when using and/or providing services in the fisheries sector.
OTHER ISSUES RELATED TO TRADE, INVESTMENT AND SERVICES IN THE
FISHERIES SECTOR.
Are there any other issues that are not mentioned in this questionnaire and that you
would like to address?
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