| Summary/Abstract |
This article confirms that China’s economic sanction in the form of restricting salmon imports from Norway was in retaliation for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a Chinese dissident. By combining personal accounts of stakeholders interviewed in the Norway–China salmon trade with an examination of trade data, there is strong evidence that links changes in trade patterns of fresh/chilled whole Norwegian salmon to border measures applied in response to the peace prize. While disproportionate border measures targeting Norwegian salmon have distorted China’s market since 2011, private actors appear to have busted the sanction by circumventing these measures, including rerouting, falsifying country-of-origin certification, and smuggling. This could have long-term consequences for trade patterns and quality. Official statistics record a reduced Norwegian market share and decreased Norway–China salmon trade despite an expansion of the volume of Chinese imports. However, official data do not record Norwegian salmon entering illegally, which some stakeholders estimate at between 50 and 70 per cent of the market. Norway’s official refusal to meet the Dalai Lama in May 2014 suggests that China’s sanction has affected foreign policy. The salmon sanction demonstrates that China has become more assertive in its international relations.
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