WTO panel rules in Norway’s favour in the salmon case

The WTO Panel’s report finds that the EU anti-dumping measure against Norwegian salmon is inconsistent with WTO rules on 22 separate grounds. According to the Norwegian Government, the EU measure contains such fundamental and serious errors that the measure must be revoked.

"I am very pleased that the Panel confirms Norway’s claim that the EU measure against Norwegian salmon is an infringement of WTO rules. We have always said that the EU had no basis to introduce the measure against the Norwegian salmon industry and we now expect that the measures will be withdrawn," says Helga Pedersen, Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.

The WTO Panel concludes that serious errors were made in connection with the anti-dumping investigation. The EU infringed WTO rules when it initiated the investigation, and it made errors in selecting which Norwegian companies to investigate. The Panel also concludes that serious errors were made in the calculation of dumping margins, and in the assessment of injury to the salmon industry in the EU. The EU’s minimum import prices for Norwegian salmon also violate WTO rules.

"This confirms that the Norwegian authorities were right to take the case to the WTO. We could no longer tolerate the EU’s continuous, unwarranted trade protection measures against Norway. The aquaculture industry is very important for wealth creation and employment along coastal Norway, and the Government accords high priority to the industry’s market access and conditions of competition. The result of the Panel case will contribute to ensuring more stable and predictable conditions for the aquaculture industry," notes the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.

The EU implemented minimum import prices for farmed salmon from Norway in January 2006. Following a series of unsuccessful attempts to reach a negotiated solution with the EU, the Government, with full support from the salmon industry, decided to bring the case to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body. The WTO panel’s report addresses all the complaints Norway has brought against the EU’s measures. Although Norway did not find support for all of its complaints, it prevailed on many, including the key complaints in the panel report.

"This was a very comprehensive and difficult case. From the beginning, we found many fundamental errors in the EU’s measure and in the way in which the EU had conducted its investigation. Our strategy was thus to attack the measure across a broad front. Although 15 of our claims were not supported by the Panel, this strategy has succeeded because we prevailed in 22 essential and decisive complaints," says Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Helga Pedersen.

The panel report must be adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body before it is binding on the EU, however the adoption is a formality. Both parties have the opportunity to appeal the Panel’s report. The deadline for appeal is 60 days after publication. An appeal will normally take three months.

"We must now be prepared for further proceedings before the final outcome of the case is clear. The industry must remain composed and live with the minimum prices for a while longer," concludes the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.