Importing Fish and Seafood Under CETA

These remaining EU tariffs on fish and seafood will be abolished by 2024:

• Cooked and peeled prawns in wholesale packs or airtight containers (20%)
• Frozen cod fillets (7.5%)
• Parts of lobster, frozen
• Prepared or preserved mussels (Mytilus and Perna) (20%)
• Prepared or preserved bonito (25%)
• Prepared or preserved crabs (8%)
• Processed trout fillets, including smoked trout fillets (9% and 12%)
• Prepared or preserved tuna or bonitto (24%)

Check for Access2Markets whether the product you want to import into the EU can benefit from the CETA tariff preference.

Products that benefit from CETA's specific rules of origin

CETA rules of origin for fish and seafood

To receive preferential tariff treatment in the EU, HS Chapters 3 and 16 fish and seafood must have been obtained entirely in Canada. This means:

• caught by Canadians fishing in Canadian waters
• caught in the Canadian/European Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), on the high seas, or in the EEZ of other countries by licensed Canadians with registered vessels authorized to fly the Canadian flag

For fish and seafood that has not been wholly obtained or produced in Canada, there are rules which allow limited quantities of certain processed fish and seafood products produced using imported non-originating materials to receive preferential treatment when imported into the EU. These quotas of origin apply to:

• Certain frozen halibut fillets
• Lobster, cooked and frozen
• Prepared or preserved lobsters
• Salmon, prepared or preserved
• Prepared or preserved herring
• Crabs and prawns, prepared or preserved
• Sardines, prepared or preserved

In the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), the Canadian Food Regulatory Authority has set out a number of rules for exporting seafood that exporters in the exporting country must comply with. For more information, see this link.

CETA tariff quotas

Under CETA, the European Union has set annual duty-free tariff quotas for a range of products, including shrimp and cod. Details can be found in Annex 2-A of the CETA Agreement.

Examples of products that comply with CETA rules of origin:

• Fish caught or farmed in Canadian waters and fish caught in international waters by vessels registered in Canada.
• Finished products manufactured or processed in Canada using non-originating materials in accordance with product-specific rules of origin. This includes using imported materials or ingredients in a Canadian product.

Non-CETA issues to consider when importing seafood into the EU:

• EU import conditions for seafood and other fishery products
• Maximum residue levels (e.g. cadmium in oysters) must be met in accordance with EU requirements.
• Fish and seafood must be in a Establishment approved by the EU are produced or processed.

If you export fish and seafood, please read this guide for Canadian companies. You can find the latest information here and here.

Are you interested in importing a Canadian product to Germany?

Are you thinking of investing in North America?

Feel free to contact the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service at deutschland.commerce@international.gc.ca