The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU poses a considerable threat to Scotland’s salmon industry if large import tariffs are imposed by key end markets, according to new media reports.
Under the most optimistic Brexit scenario, in which the UK leaves but remains a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), Scottish salmon sold to EU countries would be subject to an import tariff of least 2 percent, which is the rate for Norwegian salmon imported to the bloc, reported The Sunday Times.
Scotland’s farmed salmon – the country’s No. 1 food export – is currently sold to EU markets without import tariffs because as a member of the EU, the United Kingdom has access to the European single market.
Post-Brexit, the country’s membership of the EEA would require agreeing to the EU’s freedom of movement of people and contributions to the EU budget. But if doesn’t remain an EEA member, import duties on Scottish salmon to the EU could be higher.
The EU’s import duty on salmon from outside the EEA is 8 percent.
The Sunday Times said Scottish salmon exports to other parts of the world could also be under threat after the UK leaves the EU, because it will cease to benefit from trade deals between the bloc and other countries.
It added that the decision to leave the EU could also result in a plunge in foreign investment in Scotland’s salmon industry because around 70 percent of Scottish farms are owned by Norwegian aquaculture multinationals, which invested in them to benefit from tariff-free access to the EU.
If and when Scotland leaves the EU, its salmon farms will lose that competitive advantage, and foreign investors will be more likely to divert cash to Irish salmon farms, to benefit from tariff-free access to the single market, it said.
The United Kingdom exports around GBP 1.3 billion (USD 1.7 billion, EUR 1.5 billion) worth of its catch annually, with a large proportion of this going to EU markets, as well as around 40 percent of Scotland’s farmed salmon production.
