31 March 2005 – The Philippine Embassy in Brussels reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Philippine tuna industry stands to benefit from the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissing the case filed by Spain against  European Council Regulation No. 75/2003 entitled “Opening and Providing for the Administration of a Tariff Quota for Imports of  Canned Tuna.”

The Office of European Affairs (OEA), DFA explained that European Council Regulation No. 975/2003 grants a reduced tariff rate of 12% for canned tuna exports to the European Union (EU), subject to an  annual quota  of 25,000 tons for five years, to be distributed among the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.    Of this quota, 36% of the annual volume goes to the Philippines.

The OEA-DFA said that “the regulation resulted from representations by the Philippine Government since 2001 when the EU, the Philippines, and Thailand held consultations  to  examine to what extent Philippine and Thai legitimate interests were being unduly impaired by  preferential tariff rates  for   canned tuna  from  the African, Caribbean, and Pacific states.”  At that time, customs duty on canned tuna  from the Philippines and other countries were at the ordinary or “most favored nation”  rate of 24%.

The consultations failed to achieve a mutually acceptable solution and the three parties agreed to refer the matter to mediation within the World Trade Organization (WTO).  The WTO mediator gave his opinion on 20 December 2002.  On 5 June 2003, the EU subsequently adopted European Council Regulation No. 975/2003 along the lines of the WTO recommendations.

Spain  then filed a case, claiming that the regulation would unduly  prejudice its  tuna canning industry  and  create market distortions.  After months of holding hearings on the case, the ECJ  finally decided on 10 March 2005 that the arguments of the Spanish Government were unacceptable.

“The  ECJ’s  decision is the  culmination of  the Philippine Government’s  efforts  to promote the country’s  canned tuna exports to the EU,” the OEA-DFA  declared.

The OEA-DFA explained that during the 4th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Leaders’ Summit in Copenhagen in September 2002, then Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople appealed  for greater access of Philippine canned tuna to the EU market.  In line with this appeal in 2002, the Philippine Embassy in Brussels intensified its lobbying  with the European Commission and the Permanent Representations of EU member-states  for the EU  to  lower  the tariff rates for its canned tuna imports from the Philippines.

OEA-DFA said these successful actions contributed significantly to the formulation and subsequent adoption of European Council Regulation No. 975/2003.

The EU  is the Philippines’ largest export market for canned tuna since 2002.  In 2003, the Philippines  sold  more than US$80 million worth of the product to the region.  The  amount  represented  54.31%  of  the  country’s   total  canned  tuna export receipts  for  that  year. The entire tuna canning industry in the Philippines is located in Mindanao and supports about 150,000 people directly and indirectly, from fishing to canning. END
 

/jay