The product can be exported with the agreement's preference. The duty today is 16% instead of 20%, and it reaches zero on 1 January 2030.

This sheet is built on the EU tariff line 1604 17 00, which is the code the importer declares in the European Union. In Argentina it corresponds to NCM 1604.17.00. The classification should be confirmed by a customs broker.

The preferential duty today is 16%. The MFN duty, without the agreement, is 20%. It reaches zero on 1 January 2030. On the Argentine side, the export duty today is 0% (Decree 754/2021).

The agreement opens no tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for this line. The preference therefore applies to every shipment, with no volume limit and no quota procedure.

To benefit from the preference the product has to be originating. The applicable rule is the one for 16.01 – 16.05, which requires that all the conditions it lists be met at the same time, not just one. Answer the questions to see whether the product qualifies.

Check the materials one by one with the origin assistant, with their tariff code and their share of the price.

The product is on the list of goods the European Union controls at the border, so it enters through a border control post and with an official certificate. It is a procedure to complete, not a prohibition, but without it the consignment is not cleared, even at zero duty. EU law sets a labelling rule specific to this product, in addition to those for all foods. It is below, with the act and the article. This product class has 42 protected European names, names that cannot be used in the European Union. The Commission's portal (Access2Markets) assigns 9 EU product requirements to this line (technical, labelling or marketing rules). It assigns them to the whole line, and the table lists each one with its act and the link to check whether it applies to the product.

• SPS
  Official control at an EU border control post

  Confirmedmust be met before shipment

  The consignment must enter through an approved border control post, be pre-notified in TRACES with a common health entry document (CHED) and travel with the official certificate that applies. The annex narrows it as follows: «Todas. Comprende preparaciones culinarias cocidas o precocidas que contengan o estén mezcladas con pescado y productos de la pesca. Comprende las preparaciones de surimi del código NC 1604 20 05. Comprende también el pescado enlatado y el caviar enlatado en recipientes herméticamente cerrados y también el sushi (siempre que no deban clasificarse en un código NC mencionado en el capítulo 19). Las denominadas brochetas de pescado (es decir, carne de pescado o gambas crudas con verduras, insertadas en una varilla de madera) se clasifican en el código NC 1604 19 97.»

  Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/632, Annex, consolidated version of 1 October 2026
• Where it is handled
  TRACES NT · EU consignment control system

  Confirmedprocedure

  The consignment is notified here before it arrives, and the certificate is issued by SENASA on the Argentine side.

  TRACES NT · EU consignment control system
• Labelling
  Commercial designation, scientific name, catch area and fishing gear

  Confirmed · 5 October 2026conditions to meet

  A fishery product may only be offered to the final consumer if the marking or labelling shows the commercial designation of the species and its scientific name, the production method («caught» or «farmed»), the catch or farming area and the category of fishing gear, whether the product has been defrosted, and the date of minimum durability where appropriate. For a frozen prawn defrosted at destination, the word «defrosted» is not optional.

  Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013, consolidated version of 27 November 2024, Article 35, paragraph 1
• Name · EU GI
  42 protected European names in this product class

  Confirmedthere are names that cannot be used

  This position falls in the class Carne, pescado y sus preparados, which the annex defines by code. Those names cannot be used in the European Union, not even with «type», «style» or «imitation». For example, Holsteiner Katenschinken / Holsteiner Schinken / Holsteiner Katenrauchschinken / Holsteiner Knochenschinken, Nürnberger Bratwürste; Nürnberger Rostbratwürste, Schwarzwälder Schinken, Tiroler Speck, Jambon d'Ardenne, Pâté gaumais, among others. Search the name used to sell the product. 2 of those names have a transitional regime, with a deadline.

  iTA, Annex 13-B · geographical indications
• Name · Mercosur GI
  10 Mercosur names are protected in the European Union

  Confirmeda protection in the exporter’s favour

  A product from one of those areas that meets its specification is protected by the name in the EU. See which ones.

  iTA, Annex 13-B · geographical indications

There are two gates, in this order. First the country, since the European Union only admits products of animal origin from countries whose control plan it has approved, and Argentina is approved for 12 of 13 categories. Then the plant, which must be approved in Argentina and, for most products of animal origin, appear on the list the Commission publishes.

• Third-country list
  Argentina is on the list of authorised countries

  Confirmedthe country is authorised

  The Commission has approved Argentina's control plan for Bovine, Ovine/caprine, Equine, Poultry, Aquaculture (16), Milk, Eggs, Rabbit, Wild game, Farmed game, Honey, Casings. The category of the product should be confirmed with the customs broker, because the annex does not express them by tariff code.

  Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/405, Annex -I, consolidated version of 3 September 2026, Article 3, paragraph 1
• No approved plan
  Categories for which Argentina is NOT on the list

  Confirmedcheck whether it is the category of the product

  Porcine. A product in any of these cannot enter the European Union today, even at zero duty and with an establishment approved in Argentina.

  Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/405, Annex -I, consolidated version of 3 September 2026, Article 3, paragraph 1
• Establishment approval
  The plant, approved in Argentina and listed by the European Union

  No data

  No data. It is in SENASA's register and the European Commission's list of establishments.

  European Commission · lists of approved establishments
• Exporter registration
  Registration as an exporter with Argentine customs

  No data

  No data. It is in ARCA's register of importers and exporters.

  ARCA

These are the rules that stop a shipment for reasons unrelated to the duty. Neither of the two covers this line, according to the list of codes in the annex of each regulation.

The duty, the schedule, the quota and the rule of origin are the same in all twenty-seven Member States, so no country needs to be chosen for the above. What changes by country is the label language, VAT and local formalities.

In 2025 the EU imported €18.3 million from outside the EU; Argentina is not among the suppliers.

6 steps, in the order they are taken. Each one comes from a block of this sheet.

1. 1
   Confirm the tariff classification with a customs broker

   This whole sheet depends on the line being 1604 17 00. If the line changes, so do the duty, the quota, the rule of origin and the requirements. It is the one step that cannot be skipped.

   Customs broker
2. 2
   Register as an exporter with ARCA (Argentina)

   On the Argentine side, the export is lodged with customs, which requires registration in the exporters' register. That registration comes before the first shipment.

   ARCA
3. 3
   Check that the product is originating, and be ready to prove it

   The rule for 16.01 – 16.05 requires that all the conditions it lists be met at the same time, not just one. Without proof of origin there is no preference, and the MFN duty is paid even if the product qualifies. Origin is proven with the exporter's statement on origin (Annex 3-C). At the start, the transitional certificate of origin of Annex 3-D also applies (notice 2026/875).

   The exporter makes the statement. A certifying body is involved if the transitional certificate of Annex 3-D is needed.
4. 4
   Obtain establishment approval and the health certificate

   This line is on the list of goods the European Union controls at the border. The certificate is issued by SENASA, and for that the establishment must be approved and, depending on the product, appear on the EU list of approved establishments.

   SENASA · on the EU side, DG SANTE
5. 5
   The importer pre-notifies the consignment before arrival

   The consignment is announced in TRACES with a common health entry document (CHED) and enters through an approved border control post. If the port of destination has no post for this type of product, the consignment cannot enter there.

   TRACES NT · done by the EU importer
6. 6
   Check the technical and labelling rules for the product

   Composition, additives, contaminants, packaging and label. The EU product requirements for this line are in block 5; the detail by destination country, in the Commission's search tool. See it in Access2Markets

   European Commission · Access2Markets