The Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik told the Thai press yesterday that the EU had agreed to relax its tax conditions on tuna imports. He said this applied to a number of exporting countries, which had complained that the previous tax regime was unfair. The Thai minister made this announcement after a meeting with EU Trade Minister Pascal Lamy, who is currently visiting Thailand, and gave a speech in Bangkok regarding trade relations between Thailand and the European Community.
Under the EU’s old tax regulations, Thailand was one of several countries forced to pay a 24% import tariff on its tuna exports to the EU, despite the fact that other countries were paying a mere 12 percent, a so called “ single duty†quota.
Minister Adisai said that the EU decision allowed the countries in question to import 25,000 tons of tuna this year at the lower tariff rate, and that Thailand had been granted a 52 percent quota of total EU tuna imports, allowing it to export 13,000 tons of tuna to the EU from July this year to June 2004.
He also said that the EU trade commissioner had also been reassuring on Thailand’s concern about stringent import regulations imposed on Thai prawn and chicken products, saying that there should be good news from the EU in the near future.
In the speech that EU Commissioner of Trade Pascal Lamy made, there was no direct reference made to the reduction of the tuna import duty, or any final decision-making in Brussels on the WTO issue. The statement by Adisai Bodharamik is the more surprising, since only last Thursday the EU commission officially presented its proposal for a new regulation to the EU member states, and parliament.
In Brussels circles, the understanding is that member states still have to be consulted on proposal of the new regulation, before it is put into effect, projected by July 1st, 2003. In Europe no confirmation of the statement made by Adisai Bodharamik could be obtained.