As the European Commission and Thailand begin the fifth round of trade negotiations today until 4 April, calls are growing in Spain for tuna to be excluded from any future deal with Bangkok.
The European Commission hopes to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand, as well as with India, by the end of the year.
Alfonso Rueda, president of the government of Galicia (Popular Party), a northern Spanish region on the Atlantic coast with a large fishing industry, said he would fight to prevent the liberalisation of tuna imports as part of the FTA.
“It is fundamental and we will fight for it. It is our right and Galicia has a lot at stake,” he assured the media at an event in Pontevedra on 28 March.
Tuna is the most consumed fish in the EU – around 2.96 kilos per capita, according to a 2024 study by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EUMOFA), with Spain accounting for 88% of tuna catches in Europe.
Thailand, on the other hand, is a fish superpower and the world’s largest exporter of preserved tuna.
However, exports to Europe are currently limited to around 10,000 tonnes at a tariff of 24%.
In a statement released today, Europêche warned that the abolition of these taxes would “automatically lead to a massive influx of imports, given the export potential of the Thai sector”.
“Tuna loins and cans processed in Thailand from low-standard Asian fisheries pose a direct threat to sustainable European fleets,” said Xavier Leduc, president of the Europêche tuna group.