Legislation

EU Reinstates Countervailing Duties on Turkish Rainbow Trout

Brussels, 23 October 2025 | The General Court's Ruling and the Legal Mandate

Filetes de trucha arcoíris

The European Commission has finalised a lengthy legal process within the aquaculture sector by adopting Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2118. The measure definitively reinstates countervailing duties – anti-subsidy tariffs- on imports of certain rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)  originating from Turkey.

The product affected is the rainbow trout in various specific formats and weights, including live, fresh, chilled, frozen, or smoked trout, with particular attention to whole fish and fillets. With this decision, the Commission aims to protect EU aquaculture producers from unfair competition resulting from subsidies Turkish imports.

This regulatory action is a direct consequence of the General Court of the European Union’s ruling in Case T-122/23, delivered on 5 February 2025. That judgment delivered a blow to the Commission, as it partially annulled a previous regulation that had modified the tariffs, compelling the EU authorities to recalculate and correct their approach.

The General Court found that the Commission had made manifest errors of assessment when quantifying the state subsidies granted by Turkey to its fish producers. The judges pointed specifically to two methodological flaws: the way in which benefits related to support benefits to an exploring company that, in fact, used road transport to the EU during the investigation period.

To comply with the judgment and ensure the applied tariffs are legally sound, the new Implementing Regulation 2025/2118 reinstates the definitive countervailing duty rates. These tariffs, which vary by Turkish exporting company, have been adjusted to reflect the corrections demanded by the Court.

The measure carries significant implications for market operators, as the updated countervailing duties not only apply to future imports but are also enforced with retroactive effect from 9 December 2022.