The European Union’s Market Advisory Council (MAC) warned that the eventual elimination of duties on imported canned tuna and other tuna products from Mexico could have a negative impact on the bloc’s commercial fishers.
“In the view of the MAC, in the medium term, the planned liberalization of tuna products could negatively impact the competitiveness of the E.U. fishing fleet and of the E.U. processing sector, reducing the E.U.’s food and industrial autonomy,” the MAC said in a 31 July advisement.
On average, the E.U. imported nearly 10 tons of fishery and aquaculture products from Mexico annually from 2023 to 2025, while the bloc exported 1.57 tons to Mexico in that same period. The main seafood imports from Mexico are tuna, frozen hake, and frozen octopus.
Though frozen tuna fillets have been imported duty free from Mexico since 2020, some tuna products such as pre-cooked tuna loins and canned tuna continue to face duties. Under a new trade agreement signed 22 May, duties on those tuna products will be slowly phased out, with tariffs fully eliminated after seven years.
In its report, the MAC pointed out reports that the Mexican tuna fleet endangers dolphins and that the nation had not ratified the International Labor Organization’s Convention 188 on Work in Fishing. The council also pointed to a 2022 European Commission audit that found several issues with Mexican sanitary controls for tuna exports. Shortcomings included cold-chain failures and fuel contaminations, as well as colorant injections.
The council recommended that the European Commission closely monitor how tariff liberalization impacts the E.U. fishing and processing sectors while establishing robust sanitary, environmental, and social controls for Mexican tuna imports. They also recommended that the commission ask Mexico to sign ILO Convention 188.
