Brussels, 05/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - In a letter addressed to Commissioner Pascal Lamy at the end of April, the American Secretary of State for Trade, Don Evans, puts pressure on the EU to reduce its Atlantic bluefin tuna and white marlin harvest in the Atlantic. Washington, which believes this problem is serious enough to cause new trade frictions between the two sides, has said that it is "concerned that overfishing by EU Member States is reducing stocks of ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) species below sustainable levels)", writes Mr Evans, who also expressed disappointment that ICCAT members had agreed to a EU proposal setting the total allowable catch (TAC) at 32,000 tonnes for Eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna, 6,000 tonnes more than recommended by the group's scientific advisers. The United States want these quotas to be reviewed under the aegis of this regional fishery organisation. The Commission by and large welcomed the results of the last ICCAT annual meeting from 28 October to 4 November 2002, although it had hoped to see more stringent measures for bluefin tuna (EUROPE of 15 November 2002).