The European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation on whether the E.U. should add sustainability requirements to its autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs) on certain fishery products entering the bloc from outside countries.
The E.U. applies ATQs to a range of different products and unanimously adopted regulations in 2023 that applied to key seafood species like cod, Alaska pollock, shrimp, and cephalopods. ATQs entail the complete suspension or reduction of a duty attached to a certain volume of seafood products entering the E.U. from outside of the country, with specific volumes and duties attached to individual products.
The EC said it is considering how to make ATQs more sustainable and is working to evaluate how the program’s regime works to those ends.
The EC said it wants stakeholder input on the proposal from a range of viewpoints, including those involved in either the conservation of marine resources, such as NGOs and authorities; groups with an economic stake, like the fish-producing sector, fish-processing sector, trade unions, E.U. advisory councils, and customs authorities; academia, including researchers specializing in environmental, economic, and social issues; and consumer organizations.
Currently, tariff-free access for products entering the E.U. is ...
