The EU should maintain the current tariff system on imported tuna products from Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, said Juan Manuel Vieites, Secretary General of ANFACO-CACOPESCA, organizers of the 6th Tuna Conference in Vigo.
These remarks were made Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the conference, keeping in mind the EU is currently negotiating free trade agreements with Thailand.
Maintaining the current tariff system is a "must-have" for regulating access to the EU canned tuna market from third countries, specifically for Asian giants such as Thailand and Vietnam, Vieites said.
Both conditions are "essential" to maintain balance not only at a European level but in the global tuna market, Vieites said, adding that tuna is regarded as a "sensitive product" by the European Commission (EC) in such negotiations.
The statement read by Vieites also called on the EC to ensure "the same playing field in which the European industry can compete with third country industries, which should comply with similar standards as the EU in “food respect for the environment , in order to ensure a truly fair competition in the EU market.
"The EC should safeguard the future of the EU tuna industry and ensure their economic and social viability," Vieites said.
Galicia is home to Spain's tuna canning industry, and the Vigo conference drew representatives from 29 countries, all of whome, naturally, did not see eye to eye with the European stand.
At the end of this declaration, somebody in the audience asked Chanintr Chalisarapong -- vice-president of the Thai Food Processors Association and chairman of the Thai Tuna Group -- whether he saw double standards in the EU industry calling for strict regulations in importing canned tuna products, and not on importing tuna loins, as they are raw material for the European tuna industry, and whether there may be political motivations behind EJF's report on human rights abuse in the Thai fishing industry.
Chalisarapong answered the EJF report was based on a Thai police report, and unfortunately such practices had been going on for some years, but the Thai seafood industry was taking steps to protect its migrant workers, who are the “backbone” of the industry, and it is in the Thai seafood industry to protect its workers.
As to the calls for an even playing field, the Thai representative retorted that the field should indeed be fair, so Thailand should not be singled out when it comes to slapping import duties.