Phl-EU trade deal to boost tuna exports

MANILA, Philippines - A possible free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) which would reduce tariff on goods could lead to higher Philippine exports of tuna to the economic block, but the government would have to consider putting in place measures to address the impacts of the deal to the small fisherfolks, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.

Speaking at the Philippines-EU FTA consultations held yesterday, PIDS senior research fellow Danilo Israel said that based on a study titled: The Economic and Distributional Impacts on the Philippine Fisheries Sector of a Potential FTA with the EU, there is big potential for the country to increase its exports of processed tuna to that region.

“If there is a Philippines-EU FTA that will reduce tariffs for fisheries products like tuna, that will allow us to compete better,” he said.

He noted that the EU imposes a high tariff of 24 percent for canned tuna from the Philippines, but allows the import of the same products from Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific countries at zero tariff.

He also said canned tuna products imported from the EU by the Philippines are slapped with a lower 15 percent tariff.

Reduction of the EU’s non-tariff measures on fisheries, he said, may likewise lead to more Philippine exports of tuna to that region.

Countries that ship products to the EU face stringent sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) restrictions from the block compared to other markets.

The EU also requires a 0.02 parts per million (ppm) maximum lead content in tuna and other fishery exports from countries in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

ASEAN countries have been lobbying for the application of a 0.03 ppm maximum allowable lead content as specified in the Codex Alimentarius Commission which sets international food standards on trade.

But while the country’s exports of processed tuna could increase should a deal with the EU materialize, only large tuna processors are seen to benefit from it.

“Since in the event of an FTA there are likely losers in fisheries such as local poor fishermen and other small scale players, the government should provide some form of safety nets to them,” Israel said.

He also said that free trade could potentially worsen the exploitation of overfished fisheries stocks and resources which would make proper resource and environmental management for sustainable fishing a requirement.