January 24, 2006

EU and Norway to meet on salmon dispute

The EU and Norway agreed on Jan 23 to hold talks to resolve their dispute over salmon exports.

Recently, Norway threatened to complain to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about an EU decision to lay anti-dumping measures on its salmon exports.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, on a recent visit to EU headquarters said the EU will like to have more dialogue on the issue and that Norway is willing to comply.

EU's top trade official, Peter Mandelson will meet with Norwegian ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. He hopes a solution will be found before the issue reaches the WTO.

Barroso said the EU will try to see if it possible to have an agreement bilaterally, adding that this will be faster than going to the WTO. 

Last week, the EU imposed a temporary ban on imports of Norwegian farmed salmon priced less than EUR2.80 a kilogram after saying they were unfairly undercutting Irish and Scottish producers. The ban caused dissatisfaction among Norwegian producers who sell 60 percent of their salmon to the EU.