Law Firm In Brussels Prepares Legal Offensive Against “Dumping” By PNG ff

Source: La Voz de Galicia

International Justice wants to condemn the policy of privileges for tuna imported from Papua New Guinea

The tuna canneries in Galicia, Spain are convinced that that privileges which the European Union has been granting to tuna imported from Papua New Guinea and Fiji since January 2010 are illegal and pose “a clear dumping practice.”

The National Association for Producers of Canned Fish and Shellfish (Anfaco-Cecopesca) is preparing a lawsuit against the European Union. Anfaco has hired the prestigious international law firm Sidley, who have worked on over 200 cases related to dumping in the United States, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey and India.

The tuna canners have so far failed in their negotiations with European Commission to remove these advantages which were granted to Pacific countries late 2009. The last chance to correct the situation will be during the revision of the agreement that will be during the 2011 negotiations.

These “privileges” consist of exemption from customs duty (which is up to 24 percent for other countries) and exemption from enforcing the rules of origin for canned tuna from Papua New Guinea; rules which all Spanish canneries around the world are subject to.

According to Anfaco, numerous Asian ‘giant’ companies - such as the Thai Union and Frabelle Fishing - are using the State of Papua to produce tuna on favorable terms with the rest of the world canneries and then sell it in the EU market 35 percent cheaper than Spanish producers.

Anfaco has therefore hired the prestigious international law firm Sidley, which has worked on over 200 cases related to dumping in the United States, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey and India, with the intention of preparing a similar claim against the European Commission.

These rules force the Spanish plants in Africa and America to source raw materials in waters of countries where their factories are located at, regardless of the abundance of fish and the price. The measure aims to help local economies.

Papua New Guinea and Fiji do not have to comply with this requirement, enabling these countries to buy tuna freely where it is cheapest; and then again benefitting from duty free customs privileges in Europe.

So far, the EU’s international agreements always include one of two conditions (either follow the rules on origin, or pay import duty). But Papua has become a “loophole” since January 2010, according to Spanish industrialists.

In the past nine months, canned fish from Papua accounted for 3 percent of sales in the European market.

Meanwhile, large multinationals from the United States and Asia are currently building fish canning plants in Papua New Guinea, with a total investment of over EUR 240 million.

However, the Government of Papua expects that it will only take two years to install up to 10 macro fish processing plants. The combined production of these factories could even be triple the production of Galician canned tuna, which is around 200.000 tons and represents 67 percent of domestic production and more than half of the entire EU production.