RP, RI, Thailand get tuna tariff, quota from EU
RP, RI, Thailand get tuna tariff, quota from EU
Dow Jones, Manila
Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas said on Monday that the Philippines, together with Thailand and Indonesia, secured a lower tariff rate and minimum annual imports for canned tuna exports to the European market.
Roxas said in a statement that the Council of the European Union approved last week a regulation that will be in place for five years and will allow the entry every year of 25,000 metric tons of canned tuna from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand at an import duty of 12 percent.
The tariff rate quota will be implemented July 1.
The new tariff rate is half the prevailing rate on canned tuna imported by the E.U., except that from former European colonies in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific which are imported duty-free.
The Philippines and Thailand have been protesting the duty- free importation as discriminatory since last year, and demanding a more competitive tariff rate. Indonesia belatedly joined the protest, which reached the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Roxas said France, which held the swing votes that could have blocked the approval of the tariff rate quota, was persuaded by Philippine negotiators to withdraw its objection.
France had earlier indicated its plan to block the tariff rate quota to underscore its displeasure over Thailand's decision to file dispute proceedings against an E.U. sugar subsidy program that benefits France.
"This latest development further affirms our efforts in fighting for better market access for our products in the world market," said Roxas.
Roxas said the reduced tariff rate and the import quota should help boost Philippine tuna exports, especially with the accession of 10 countries into the EU starting next year.
The Philippines exports around 5 million cases of canned tuna every year, or 60 percent of its total production capacity. Nearly 40 percent of these are exported to Europe and the U.S. Canned tuna exports contribute between US$100 million and $200 million to the Philippines' total exports. Sales peaked at $200 million in 1998, but have since declined due to trade restrictions.