Trade Policy Note Final-rev08 - Development

fleets from developed countries, often benefiting from subsidies, and imbalanced
bilateral agreements, are also contributing to the depletion of national fishing zones,
often illegally 134 . Overall, in 12 of the 16 fishing regions identified by FAO, fish
stocks are either fully exploited or depleted.
Aquaculture has caused environmental degradation, for example by causing increased
salinity of rice farms, and its expansion has been severely limited in many developing
countries. Poor fishermen have not been able to acquire the capital to participate in
aquaculture. Thus increased exports of fish and fish products have not benefited the
majority of fisher folk and in many cases have actually led to increased poverty
among fishermen. 135
Barriers to Exports of Fish Products
Tariffs on fresh, frozen or chilled fish, or primary fish products, are low in most
developed country export markets with the exception of the EC. Seafood is covered
by the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of the major developed trading
countries. Tariff escalation presents the main barrier as tariffs on processed fish and
fish products can rise to 20 per cent, and there are greater in-quota and off-quota
variations. Processing industries provide employment opportunities for women and
supplement household income of fisher families. Additional trade barriers are being
erected against developing country fisheries exports, (e.g. anti-dumping duties are
proliferating). Sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, such as food safety standards,
environmental measures, such as eco-labelling and certification programmes, and
compliance requirements with MEAs, present serious barriers to the participation of
small fishermen in export markets.
It is recognized that subsidies have contributed to an artificial increase in fishing
fleets and fishing capacity which has contributed to the depletion of stocks It is
estimated that such subsides account for up to 20% of dock side revenues. A
consensus seems to be emerging in the Doha Round “Rules negotiations that such
subsides should be drastically reduced. However, there is also recognition of the need
for public support to small scale fishers 136 .
Food Safety Standards and Small-scale Fisheries
SPS regulations have become more stringent, excluding many producers, particularly
poorer fishermen, from export markets. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP) – based systems and scientifically based risk assessment methods have
been adopted by the United States, EC and Japan that together account for 75 to 80
per cent in value of seafood imports (FAO 2004). The international regulatory
framework for fish safety and quality is embodied in two agreements (SPS and TBT)
of the WTO, and the standards, guidelines and recommendations developed by the
relevant committees of the Codex Alimentarius. These safety and quality concepts are
134 See Chapter 4 of the UNDP Human Development Report 2005, op. cit.
135 The section draws heavily from Tokrishna, Ruangrai, “The Fisheries Sector in Asian Countries,
Sustainable Fisheries, Human Development and Trade Liberalization”, UNDP Asia Trade Initiative on
Trade and Human Development, Phase 1, technical support document (Hanoi: 2003) (available at
www.undprcc.lk/Publications/Publications.asp?C=4).
136 See, for example, recent proposals by Brazil TN/RL/GEN/79/Rev.4 and the United States
TN/RL/GEN/145 on www.wto.org
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