A victory for RP’s tuna industry

On June 5, the European Community accepted the proposal to grant lower tariff on tuna products imported from Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia on a quota of 25,000 metric tons for the first year and to increase by three percent in the second year. The tariff quota (TQ) will be in force for a period of five years. The share of the Philippines has been pegged at 9,000 metric tons of canned tuna for 2003.

The creation of the TQ resulted from the mediation conducted by the World Trade Organization between Thailand, the Philippines and the EU when the ASEAN tuna exporters jointly protested the preferential treatment that EU countries granted to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) at zero duty along with Andean tuna producers.

It all began when Secretary Manuel Roxas II stood up at the Doha WTO meeting in November 2001 and refused to accept continued unfair treatment of Philippine canned tuna exports to the EU.

In a statement, the Tuna Canners Association of the Philipppines (TCAP) expressed deep gratitude to President Arroyo and Roxas for their unqualified support for the tuna industry in Southern Mindanao that led to this WTO victory.

The TCAP also made special mention of Agriculture Undersecretary Cesar Drilon for rallying the support of the fishing sector for this cause.

TCAP further stressed that the TQ will not only arrest the continuing loss of jobs in the region, it will also create new jobs and encourage investment in the areas surrounding the tuna processing centers of Socsargen and Zamboanga.

Under the Council resolution, the operative instrument to identify canned tuna shipments under the TQ shall be specifically identified in the certificates of origin. Thus, only tuna actually processed by Philippine tuna canners may be eligible for entry to European ports at a reduced duty of 12 percent, from a high of 24 percent prior to the TQ. Philippine tuna canners procure more than 80 percent of their raw materials from Philippine fishermen.

Up to the last stages of the negotiations, three European countries, namely Spain, Italy and France, strongly protested the lowering of the tariff for the protection of their own fishing industries. TCAP stated that the persistence, savvy and negotiation stance that the Department of Trade and Industry took at the mediation table along with Thailand precipitated a consensus among the other members of the EU to approve the TQ.

This is expected to benefit over 117,000 workers in the tuna canning industry. Both the federation of fishermen and processors of tuna in Mindanao also congratulated Mrs. Arroyo, Roxas and Drilon for "a true landmark victory on a problem that has been raised to the EU for more than 15 years."