The United States has softened their stance and proposed to reduce the tariff on Ecuadorian vegetable-oil-canned tuna entering the US market from 35 to 15 per cent. Nevertheless, the government and the Ecuadorian entrepreneur sector are still dissatisfied.
The US are trying to condition the opening of its markets to Ecuadorian tuna by establishing a close rule to recognize the origin of this product.
The analysis of this issue has been "exhausted" during the Table of Rules of Origin as well as during the Table for the Entrance to Industrial markets, where it has also been discussed.
The Coordinator for the Table of Rules of Origin, Mr. Carlos Palacios, noted that only the “interest and good will†of one of the negotiating parties could retake the analysis of the tuna issue, even when all facts points to a negotiation between the chief negotiators.
The US proposal also suggests that water-canned tuna from Ecuador continues to pay the same 12 per cent tariff, although it considers a remission in the future.
These proposals are “unacceptable,†said Roberto Aguirre, chief negotiator with the Ecuadorian delegation and President of NIRSA, one of Ecuador’s major tuna canneries.
He referred to the proposals within the framework of the eleventh round of negotiations towards the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, held beginning 18 July in Miami.
The most important obstacle towards achieving the entrance of Ecuadorian canned tuna is the US decision to open its markets to this specie only if it is caught by Andean or American-flagged vessels.
One of Ecuador arguments to reject this approach has been the “discriminatory treatment†that US pretends to give to Ecuadorian tuna, since the Free Trade Agreement signed among US and the Central American countries did not include such regulation on vessel’s flags.
NIRSA President Aguirre also mentioned that the US has granted free entry, that is, with zero tariff, for oil-canned tuna, and a 2.5 per cent tariff for water-canned tuna, with a five-year remission period.
However, Aguirre did not rule out that, with the new proposal, there might be room for debate during the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian tuna entrepreneur sector believes that the US proposal restricts access of Ecuadorian canned tuna to the US market, especially if a closed rule of origin is maintained. Although currently Ecuador is has been exporting canned and pouched tuna to the US market for the last years. Both Starkist and Bumble Bee process tuna in Ecuador under leasing and co-packing agreements and export to the US.
Last April, the US accepted defining as Ecuadorian origin; all tuna caught within a 200mile EEZ, regardless of the vessel’s origin.
Although its proposal meant a certain progress from its initial position, the Ecuadorian Government was not satisfied, as it wants a completely open rule of origin for tuna. Some Ecuadorian boat-owners have different ideas about this issue.