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EP resolution on Thai FTA

06 April 2014

A resolution was approved by the European Parliament (EP) on “[t]he situation and future prospects of the European fishing sector in the context of the Free Trade Agreement [FTA] between the EU and Thailand”. Recalling that Thailand produces 46% of world canned tuna, and already accounts for almost 20% of all EU canned tuna imports, the resolution highlights that the survival of the EU sector in regions heavily dependent on fisheries – 25,000 direct and 54,000 indirect jobs are at stake – “will be jeopardised” if the EU further liberalises trade in fishery products with developing countries, especially by offering 0% access duty to countries like Thailand. However, Globefish reports that, in 2013, Spain’s imports of pre-cooked tuna loins from Thailand were 14% higher than in 2012.

The EP resolution also underlines that any tariff reduction for canned and prepared tuna could have an impact on the preferences enjoyed by the countries of the ACP and the beneficiaries of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+).

The EP also highlights Thailand’s shortcomings in terms of compliance with labour/hygiene standards and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) regulation requirements. “In 2013 the Spanish authorities refused permission for tuna from tuna vessels flying the Ghanaian flag to be landed and marketed on the grounds that those vessels were involved in IUU fishing… private companies based in Thailand had a stake in most of the tuna vessels concerned.”

MEPs therefore request that items such as canned tuna imported from Thailand be treated as sensitive products; access to the EU market for such products should remain excluded from tariff reductions; and any decision concerning greater access for Thai canned and processed tuna should only be taken following rigorous impact assessments.

Generally, MEPs consider that Thai canned tuna products should meet the same competitive conditions as fish products of EU origin. These should be contained in an “ambitious trade and sustainable development chapter”. They also think that “the best way to ensure Thailand’s full cooperation in the fight against IUU fishing is to include an explicit reference to the IUU regulation in the text of the FTA.”

The vote in favour of this resolution was welcomed by the Environmental Justice Foundation, which had already urged the Thai government to work “towards a sustainable and ethical fishing industry and to take firm and decisive action against business owners and corrupt officials exploiting modern day slaves”.

However, simultaneously to the vote, a study commissioned by the Thai Food Processors’ Association to the Asian Research Centre for Migration at the University’s Institute of Asia Studies was published, stating that, although there remained some areas for improvement, the Thai tuna industry generally respects international labour standards.

Editorial comment

The EU supports regional integration among ASEAN countries and the FTA with Thailand. Further planned discussions with the Philippines (another large global canned tuna producer) will be an essential part of that process. Canned tuna is economically important for Thailand, and its canned tuna exports to the EU are a key element of the FTA negotiation. It is therefore unlikely that Thailand would agree to an exclusion of canned tuna from liberalisation under the FTA, as requested by the EP. Other EP demands may be taken into account, which would somewhat protect ACP canned tuna products from Thai competition: if the EU–Thailand FTA contains rules of origin similar to those generally applied to ACP fish products (where fish must be caught by a vessel with 50% local or EU ownership), and if no cumulation is possible (whereby Thai processors could source raw materials from other ASEAN members, which would be ‘of origin’ if the tuna has been sufficiently processed in Thailand), these requirements may constrain the capacity of Thailand to export canned tuna on the EU markets.

It is unclear how far the EU sector will support EP demands for the inclusion of strong social and environmental provisions in an ‘ambitious’ FTA chapter on sustainable development, including a reference to the EU IUU regulation. The European canning industry increasingly sources primary processed products – typically, pre-cooked tuna loins for Spanish canners – from low-labour-cost countries, like Thailand – and will want further liberalisation of trade for these products. Trade of pre-cooked tuna loins would be equally covered by such environmental and social requirements, and it is likely that EU fishing and canning interests, as well as NGOs, will diverge on this.

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