CALL FOR EVIDENCE FOR AN EVALUATION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT RUN IN PARALLEL
This document aims to inform the public and stakeholders on the Commission’s future legislative work so they can provide feedback on the Commission’s understanding of the problem and possible solutions and give us any relevant information that they may have, including on possible impacts of the different options.
Title of the initiative	Sustainable imports of fishery products under the EU Autonomous Tariff Quota Regulation
Lead DG (responsible unit)	DG MARE, B.3
Likely type of initiative	Legislative/non-legislative
Indicative timetable	Q1 2026
Additional information	Trade - European Commission (europa.eu)
This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described, including its timing, are subject to change.

A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check

Political context

Autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs) allow for the reduction or suspension of customs duties on imports of selected products. The aim is to facilitate access for EU industry to raw materials not available in the EU in sufficient quantities and/or at competitive prices. They are applied in various sectors, including fisheries and aquaculture.

In the fisheries sector, ATQs are currently provided for in Council Regulation 2023/2720 for the 2024-2026 period. The Regulation opens 31 quotas covering unprocessed and semi-processed fisheries products needed for the EU’s food processing sector. For most products, the in-quota tariff is set at zero. This helps reduce the cost of raw materials and hence promotes food security and competitive prices for EU consumers.

Tariff-free access applies on a first-come first-served basis for specific quantities of fisheries products, with no sustainability conditions attached. This raises questions around the effects on the conservation and management of the concerned fish stocks, social and trade matters, as well as the competitiveness of the EU fishing sector.

The Commission is therefore looking into the scope to adjust the ATQ regime after 2026 to tackle the sustainability of imported fishery products. The way to achieve this objective has not yet been decided.

The Commission intends to conduct an impact assessment of the environmental, social and economic consequences of a potential review of the ATQ Regulation to introduce sustainability criteria for the EU’s autonomous tariff quotas. This call for evidence is published to allow all groups of stakeholders to express their views, which will feed into this impact assessment process.

Evaluation

The impact assessment will be conducted in parallel with a retrospective evaluation of the current and previous ATQ Regulations, given that they never had sustainability criteria. This will enable the Commission to assess whether and how the current ATQ import regime currently fosters sustainability and whether improvements are needed. This analysis will help shape the reflection on the possible review of the ATQ Regulation.

The retrospective evaluation will cover the current and previous (2020/1706) ATQ Regulations from 2021 to end 2024. Both the impact assessment and the evaluation study will be informed by a study carried out by an independent consultant in 2022, potentially accompanied by an additional complementary study and by an updated EUMOFA study on the value added created by the ATQs.

The application of the ATQ Regulations is EU-wide as the customs union is an exclusive competence of the EU. The impact assessment and the retrospective evaluation will therefore cover all Member States.

Problem the initiative aims to tackle

Food security and the need for sustainable value chains for fisheries products. In the context of an increase in demand for fishery products across the EU, any potential new instrument must meet the EU’s need for food security while ensuring that EU consumers can have access to products fished sustainably. Under the current Regulation, no sustainability conditions are required for fisheries imports, and this could undermine the EU’s position as a global leader in socially and environmentally sustainable exploitation of marine resources. The ATQs should also remain a fundamental tool to provide the EU market with a steady supply of fishery products that are not available in the EU in sufficient quantities and/or at competitive prices.

Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check)

Legal basis

The initiative will be based on Article 31 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) relative to the Common Customs Tariff.

Under Article 3.1 of the TFEU, the EU has exclusive competence for the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy and for the customs union. Therefore, the subsidiarity principle does not apply.

Practical need for EU action

DG MARE’s mission regarding the sustainable management of marine resources fits into the European Commission’s broader sustainability goals, mainly pursued through the Green Deal.

The EU faces increased pressure to source raw materials that are not available in the EU in a sustainable manner, which makes it necessary to assess the functioning of ATQs.

This initiative would further complement and be consistent with other instruments put forward by the EU to ensure sustainable imports and value chains, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Regulation on Deforestation-free products.

B. Objectives and policy options

The general objective of the initiative is to ensure that products imported under the ATQ regime are imported in a sustainable manner. The three more specific objectives are to:

·ensure that fisheries products imported into the EU meet environmental, social and economic sustainability standards;

·mitigate the economic impacts stemming from any change to the import regime for the EU processing sector;

·align the EU’s import sustainability standards with the standards used in the internal market.

Possible policy options could be:

1.Baseline scenario – continue the current ATQ regime in an unchanged form. Under this scenario, the ATQs defined in Regulation 2023/2720 (where the utilisation of ATQs is not contingent upon any sustainability conditions), are extended beyond 2026.

2.No ATQs scenario. Under this scenario, the ATQ import regime would end when the period covered by the current ATQ Regulation expires. As of 2027, any imports of products covered currently by the ATQ Regulation originating in countries that have no free trade agreement with the EU or do not benefit from the general system of preferences (GSP) would be subject to most favoured nation duties.

3.New ATQ scheme with sustainability criteria. The exact nature of any new sustainability criteria (in the form of conditions) would be developed in more detail in the impact assessment and the public consultation process. DG MARE will explore various options, including making the import of fishery products under the ATQ regime conditional on the ratification of several environmental and/or labour conventions that underpin the functioning of the free trade agreement and GSP schemes. Any changes made in the ATQ instrument must be compliant with the EU’s WTO/GATT obligations.

C. Likely impacts

The assessment will ensure that any future action is well-informed and facts-based. It will involve analysing the economic, environmental and social impacts of all policy options outlined above regarding the regime on fisheries imports to the EU market. The analysis will calculate the effects (on imports, revenue, welfare and on the market) of different change scenarios compared to the current situation. It will also assess the potential effects of these options on the sustainability of fishing practices. The impact assessment should frame the Commission’s way forward in line with its priorities, particularly regarding the European Green Deal, an economy that works for the people, a stronger Europe in the world and the European way of life.

The following topics will be examined, among others:

Environmental impacts:

-effects of the policy options on the extent to which raw materials would meet international sustainability standards;

-effects of possible shifting of sourcing of raw materials and other inputs to countries that would comply better with international sustainability standards than the current exporting countries.

Economic impacts:

-effects of potential changes in import patterns on the competitiveness and level-playing field of the EU’s processing industry and producing sector;

-economic consequences stemming from a possible reduction in imports of ATQ products;

-welfare effects related to the consumer surplus (combined welfare of EU food processors and their clients/consumers);

-external trade impact (including on free trade agreement and GSP beneficiaries);

-financial and administrative capacity of the EU and of national administrations to put in place and enforce the measures;

-effects of each policy option on the EU market, notably on prices and supply/demand dynamics.

Social impacts:

-consequences of each policy option on employment and social conditions related to the sourcing of raw materials;

-effects on consumers, in particular on demand, accessibility and the affordability of fishery products.

D. Better regulation instruments

Impact assessment

In line with the European Commission’s better regulation policy, an impact assessment and a public consultation are being conducted to underpin the work to prepare for any new legal changes to improve the sustainability of fisheries imports. The impact assessment process was initiated in the third quarter of 2024.

Given the complexity of the assessment and the fact that certain categories of data may not be readily available, the assessment is likely to take a minimum of twelve months.

Consultation strategy

The aim of the consultation is to achieve a well-informed, participatory and transparent method of shaping the future ATQ Regulation. The Commission will consult stakeholders involved in the conservation of marine resources and sustainable sourcing (e.g. NGOs and organisations involved in voluntary sustainability certification), stakeholders with an economic stake in the EU and in third countries (e.g. the fish-producing sector, fish-processing sector and the food industry, Advisory Councils under the EU common fisheries policy, in particular the Long Distance Advisory Council and the Market Advisory Council), related administrations (including customs authorities), trade unions, academia, consumer organisations and any other bodies willing to contribute their views and knowledge.

The consultation activities will include this call for evidence and an online public consultation open to all stakeholders in and outside the EU for 12 weeks. The questionnaire will be available via the EU public consultations ‘Have Your Say’ portal in all EU languages. Respondents can reply in any EU official language.

The Commission will publish a factual summary report on the consultation page within 8 weeks of the close of the public consultation. It will also publish a synopsis report with a summary of all consultation results.

Why we are consulting?

The aim is to achieve a well-informed, participatory and transparent method of shaping a potential new ATQ instrument. The Commission is seeking views and expertise to help assess in detail the net sustainability benefits, the potential economic costs and opportunities associated with changing the ATQ Regulation. The evidence provided should also help identify any potential alternative ways to ensure imports are sustainable and to minimise any negative effects on the level-playing field of the EU industry.

Target audience

The consultation is addressed to stakeholders in and outside the EU involved in the conservation of marine resources and sustainable sourcing (e.g. NGOs and responsible authorities), or have a related economic stake (e.g. the fish-producing sector, fish-processing sector, trade unions, EU Advisory Councils, custom authorities), to academia – including researchers specialised in related environmental, economic and social, including public health, questions – or to consumer organisations and other bodies willing to contribute their views and knowledge.