Expert Opinion: WTO compatibility of an IMO number requirement for non-EU vessels supplying fisheries products into the EU market

摘要: On 6th July 2017, the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) submitted its reply to the Long Distance Fleet Advisory Council (LDAC) regarding its Advice1 that the requirement for an International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ship Identification Number currently applicable to EU vessels be extended to non-EU vessels supplying fisheries products into the EU market (hereinafter, proposed measure). DG MARE does not favour the introduction of this measure and makes a number of arguments against it, including its alleged incompatibility with WTO rules on which this short expert opinion concentrates. At the outset, it should be noted that the WTO-incompatibility concerns raised by DG MARE (ie, last substantive paragraph) are not a model of clarity, nor well-grounded in specific provisions of WTO law. i) DG MARE claim that regulatory measures “must be applied to fisheries products, not vessels, in order to ensure acceptability under WTO rules” This first claim by DG MARE is not well-founded for two reasons. First, the distinction drawn by DG MARE between vessels and fisheries products is flawed, as it misrepresents the nature of the proposed measure. That is, the proposed requirement for an IMO Ship Identification Number would not apply to non-EU vessels in general, but only to those non-EU vessels supplying fisheries products into the EU market. As such, the proposed measure