The Mexican tuna fishing sector asked their Government to restrain imports of canned tuna.
Earlier this week, the fishing industrialists demanded that the authorities entirely stop the imports of canned tuna, mainly from the United States, but also from Ecuador. They say that the tuna-canning sector is on the brink of a severe crisis.
The tuna industry also requested that they be protected against imports from other countries, like Ecuador, which has been accused of putting its canned tuna in the Mexican supermarkets at prices up to 40% below national products. The president of the National Fishing Industry Chamber (Canaipesca), Carlos Hussong González, urged for a serious revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to remove canned tuna from the agreement with the United States and Canada.
The industrialist stressed that it cannot be permissible that Mexico continues to open its doors to the disloyal United States competition, while Mexican tuna is obstructed in the U.S.. According to Hussong, the industry has suffered losses up to 1.5 billion dollars in the last five years and at least 30,000 people have lost their jobs at harbors