The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

partners, but tariffs can be reduced or removed 
as part of free-trade agreements or to facilitate 
market access for developing countries through 
the application of preferential tariff regimes such 
as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). 
Tariff rates for fish and fish products generally 
remain low, particularly for unprocessed raw 
material. However, many developing countries 
still apply high tariffs for fish and fish products, 
which can limit interregional trade. In other 
cases, certain fish products, such as canned tuna 
and tuna loins, are subject to tariff rate quotas. 
This allows a certain quantity of the product to 
be imported at a reduced tariff. Tariff rates can 
also be used as incentives, such as within the 
European Union’s GSP+ regime, which offers 
further trade incentives to countries that can 
demonstrate their commitment to implementing 
international conventions on human and labour 
rights, sustainable development and good 
government. The reduction of import tariffs 
has been a major driver of the expansion in 
international trade in recent decades, and it is 
generally accepted that tariffs will continue to 
fall further over time, despite temporary halts 
or reversals of this trend due to geopolitical 
developments or domestic policy shifts.
Furthermore, several other factors can 
affect access to international markets by 
exporting countries. Both regulators and 
buyers, particularly large consolidated 
retailers, enforce various types of standards 
and requirements for imported products. 
These non-tariff trade measures include: 
safety and quality standards; procedures 
for import licensing; rules of origin and 
conformity assessment; handling of customs 
classifications; and valuation and clearance 
procedures. As a result, the process of securing 
market access for a given product can involve 
extensive paperwork, lengthy certification 
procedures and various fees, and require a 
degree of knowledge and technical capacity 
that may be difficult to achieve, particularly for 
suppliers in developing countries. The entry 
into force of the WTO Trade Facilitation 
Agreement on February 2017 is expected to 
help to overcome some of these challenges and 
expedite the movement, release and clearance 
of goods across borders, reducing these 
negative influences on trade.
Developing countries are particularly vulnerable 
to the potentially negative consequences of 
overly strict regulations and standards, as 
compliance can impose prohibitively high costs 
on supply chain participants, which are often 
fragmented small businesses that lack the 
required capacity in terms of infrastructure, 
technology and expertise. For fish and fish 
products, the regulations and standards 
associated with sustainability of the resources 
and aquaculture production are most relevant 
in this regard, as they are many and diverse. 
This is an area of potential for trade conflicts 
resulting from multiple and diverse standards 
and conformity assessment requirements. 
Main commodities
Trade statistics of fish commodities can support 
the management of the fisheries resources 
and can help in uncovering the movements 
of illegally sourced products. However, their 
utility in this regard is dependent on both the 
accuracy and detail of reporting. Trade statistics 
are usually classified within specific 
commodity categories that are defined by the 
Harmonized Commodity Description and