The European Union will discontinue a tariff on canned tuna from the Philippines and two other Southeast Asian countries. Instead, the 27-member union will offer increased market access via a free trade agreement, according a report on Business World Online, a Filipino news outlet.
Alistair B. MacDonald, European Commission delegate in the Philippines, said the five-year tariff granted to the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia that ended last June was a temporary arrangement.
"We have no intention on our side to prolong that arrangement," MacDonald said on Wednesday.
The in-quota tariff slaps a 12 percent duty on canned tuna goods, compared with the regular 24 percent. The 12 percent rate is confined to 25,000 metric tons a year: 9,000 metric tons from the Philippines; 13,000 metric tons from Thailand; 2,750 metric tons from Indonesia and the balance other "non-preferred" countries.
Beyond the 25,000-metric-ton annual quota, canned tuna from these countries will face a 24 percent duty.
"Our position in improving the market access of local canned tuna is to address the issue in the context of a free trade agreement between ASEAN countries and the EU," he said.
