Chapter
Chapter 03: Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
9 headings make up chapter 03, part of section I, live animals; animal products.
Duty rates compared
UK Free – 20% Third-country duty 905 tariff lines · average 11% 
EU Free – 23% Third-country duty 466 tariff lines · average 11.8% 
Türkiye Free – 37.5% Third-country duty 482 tariff lines · average 30.8% 
USA Free – 15% General (MFN) 279 tariff lines · average 0.7% · 7× specific or compound duty 
Canada Free – 6.5% General (MFN) 313 tariff lines · average 0.6% 
Mexico Free – 15% General (MFN) 293 tariff lines · average 13.8% 
Brazil Free – 9% General (MFN) 324 tariff lines · average 8.6% 
Argentina Free – 9% General (MFN) 1002 tariff lines · average 8.9% 
Peru Free – 6% General (MFN) 261 tariff lines · average 0.1% 
New Zealand Free – 5% General (MFN) 825 tariff lines · average 0.1% · 1× specific or compound duty 
Japan Free – 15% General (MFN) 454 tariff lines · average 6% 
Taiwan Free – 50% General (MFN) 668 tariff lines · average 20% · 56× specific or compound duty 
GCC Free – 5% General (MFN) 310 tariff lines · average 3.3% 
Switzerland Free General (MFN) 237 tariff lines · 50× specific or compound duty 
Norway Free General (MFN) 350 tariff lines 
North Macedonia Free – 15% General (MFN) 469 tariff lines · average 0.8% · 16× specific or compound duty 
Nigeria 5% – 20% General (MFN) 233 tariff lines · average 15.5% Headings 9
- 0301Live fish
- 0302Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304
- 0303Fish, frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304
- 0304Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh, chilled or frozen
- 0305Fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process
- 0306Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine
- 0307Molluscs, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked molluscs, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process
- 0308Aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process
- 0309Flours, meals and pellets of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, fit for human consumption
EU: imports by month
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$42mUS$42m+US$322m+US$1.8bn+> US$5.7bn
Exports: 209
- Norway: US$17bn
- China: US$9.5bn
- Chile: US$7.4bn
- Ecuador: US$6.6bn
- India: US$6.2bn
- Vietnam: US$6bn
- Russia: US$5.7bn
- Canada: US$5.4bn
- United States: US$4.5bn
- Sweden: US$4.4bn
- Denmark: US$4.2bn
- Spain: US$4.2bn
- Indonesia: US$4.1bn
- Netherlands: US$3.9bn
- United Kingdom: US$2.7bn
- Poland: US$2.3bn
- Argentina: US$2.3bn
- Iceland: US$2.3bn
- France: US$2bn
- Türkiye: US$1.9bn
- Morocco: US$1.8bn
- Japan: US$1.7bn
- South Korea: US$1.7bn
- Taiwan: US$1.6bn
- Thailand: US$1.6bn
- Germany: US$1.6bn
- New Zealand: US$1.3bn
- Greenland: US$1.2bn
- Peru: US$1.1bn
- Greece: US$1.1bn
- Mauritania: US$1.1bn
- Portugal: US$1bn
- Australia: US$897m
- Mexico: US$853m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$787m
- Myanmar (Burma): US$720m
- Malaysia: US$692m
- Ireland: US$641m
- Italy: US$619m
- Lithuania: US$587m
- Belgium: US$543m
- Pakistan: US$511m
- South Africa: US$505m
- Senegal: US$463m
- Philippines: US$457m
- Bangladesh: US$431m
- Brazil: US$429m
- Venezuela: US$373m
- Falkland Islands: US$365m
- Oman: US$357m
- Honduras: US$351m
- Micronesia: US$322m
- Sri Lanka: US$313m
- Tunisia: US$304m
- Seychelles: US$296m
- Panama: US$291m
- Nicaragua: US$267m
- Croatia: US$263m
- Tanzania: US$245m
- Estonia: US$238m
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$33mUS$33m+US$206m+US$1.1bn+> US$4.9bn
Imports: 223
- United States: US$20bn
- China: US$17.5bn
- Japan: US$9bn
- Spain: US$8.3bn
- Italy: US$6.7bn
- France: US$6.4bn
- Germany: US$4.9bn
- South Korea: US$4.8bn
- Netherlands: US$4.3bn
- Poland: US$4.2bn
- Thailand: US$3.6bn
- United Kingdom: US$3bn
- Denmark: US$2.7bn
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$2.7bn
- Portugal: US$2.5bn
- Canada: US$2.4bn
- Vietnam: US$2.3bn
- Sweden: US$2bn
- Belgium: US$1.8bn
- Taiwan: US$1.6bn
- Brazil: US$1.5bn
- Russia: US$1.4bn
- Malaysia: US$1.1bn
- Australia: US$943m
- Singapore: US$907m
- Israel: US$902m
- Philippines: US$901m
- Côte d’Ivoire: US$872m
- Nigeria: US$811m
- Greece: US$808m
- Macao SAR China: US$799m
- Ukraine: US$783m
- Lithuania: US$768m
- Switzerland: US$682m
- Norway: US$621m
- United Arab Emirates: US$617m
- Mexico: US$603m
- Egypt: US$552m
- Austria: US$500m
- Saudi Arabia: US$492m
- Romania: US$434m
- Czechia: US$419m
- Morocco: US$400m
- Finland: US$399m
- Indonesia: US$365m
- Dominican Republic: US$327m
- South Africa: US$312m
- Ireland: US$304m
- Ghana: US$293m
- Colombia: US$282m
- Croatia: US$279m
- Türkiye: US$277m
- Mauritius: US$270m
- Latvia: US$254m
- Estonia: US$245m
- Kazakhstan: US$206m
- Kuwait: US$200m
- India: US$199m
- Guatemala: US$187m
- Cameroon: US$175m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | US$17bn | 12.2% |
| 2 |  China | US$9.5bn | 6.8% |
| 3 |  Chile | US$7.4bn | 5.3% |
| 4 |  Ecuador | US$6.6bn | 4.8% |
| 5 |  India | US$6.2bn | 4.5% |
| 6 |  Vietnam | US$6bn | 4.3% |
| 7 |  Russia | US$5.7bn | 4.1% |
| 8 | Canada | US$5.4bn | 3.9% |
| 9 | United States | US$4.5bn | 3.2% |
| 10 |  Sweden | US$4.4bn | 3.1% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$20bn | 14.4% |
| 2 | China | US$17.5bn | 12.6% |
| 3 | Japan | US$9bn | 6.4% |
| 4 |  Spain | US$8.3bn | 6% |
| 5 |  Italy | US$6.7bn | 4.8% |
| 6 |  France | US$6.4bn | 4.6% |
| 7 |  Germany | US$4.9bn | 3.5% |
| 8 |  South Korea | US$4.8bn | 3.5% |
| 9 |  Netherlands | US$4.3bn | 3.1% |
| 10 |  Poland | US$4.2bn | 3% |
In the UK Global Tariff, chapter 03 covers 905 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 20%. 11 of them are duty-free.
The EU Combined Nomenclature divides chapter 03 into 466 tariff lines; the duty is between 0% and 23% (average 11.8%). 10 of them are duty-free.
In the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule, chapter 03 covers 482 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 37.5%. 27 of them are duty-free.
World trade in chapter 03 goods reached US$139bn in 2024, down 2.7% on 2023.
Norway was the largest exporter with 12.2% of the total, ahead of China.
The United States imported the most (US$20bn).
Chapter notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) mammals of heading 0106;
(c) fish (including livers, roes and milt thereof) or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, dead and unfit or unsuitable for human consumption by reason of either their species or their condition (Chapter 5); flours, meals or pellets of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, unfit for human consumption (heading 2301); or
(d) caviar or caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs (heading 1604).
2. In this chapter, the term ‘pellets’ means products which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a small quantity of binder.
3. Headings 0305 to 0308 do not cover flours, meals and pellets, fit for human consumption (heading 0309).
Additional notes
1. For the purposes of subheadings 03053211 and 03053219, cod fillets (Gadus morhua, Gadus ogac, Gadus macrocephalus) having a total salt content by weight of 12 % or more which are fit for human consumption without further industrial processing, are considered to be salted fish.
However, frozen cod fillets which have a total salt content by weight of less than 12 % are to be classified under subheadings 03047110 and 03047190, in so far as the actual and lasting preservation depends essentially upon freezing.
2. For the purposes of the subheadings referred to in the third paragraph, the term ‘fillets’ includes ‘loins’, i.e. the strips of meat constituting the upper or lower, right or left, side of a fish insofar as the head, guts, fins (dorsal, anal, caudal, ventral, pectoral) and bones (spinal column or main backbone, ventral or costal bones, branchial bone or stapes, etc.) have been removed.
The classification of such products as fillets is unaffected by cutting them into pieces, provided that these pieces can be identified as having been obtained from fillets.
The provisions of the first two paragraphs apply to the following fish:
(a) tuna, of the genus Thunnus, of subheadings 03044990 and 03048700;
(b) swordfish (Xiphias gladius) of subheadings 03044500 and 03048400;
(c) marlin, sailfish and spearfish, of the family Istiophoridae, of subheadings 03044990 and 03048990;
(d) oceanic sharks (Hexanchus griseus, Cetorhinus maximus, Rhincodon typus, or of the families Alopiidae, Carcharhinidae, Sphyrnidae and Lamnidae) of subheadings 03044720, 03044790, 03048815, 03048822 and 03048829.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates?
Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates make up HS chapter 03, in section I of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic… in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 03 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 20%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic… in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 03 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 23%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic…?
Norway, with US$17bn in 2024 (12.2% of world exports).