Brussels, 19/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has proposed that the Council approves establishing a quota for importing Mexican tuna loin. Following negotiations between the EU and Mexico under the free trade agreement framework, the quota eligible for 6% customs duty will be 5,000 tonnes for the first year of implementation, reaching 10,000 tonnes in the tenth year and then 15,000.
The negotiations were able to be concluded before Mexico repealed national provisions affecting similar European exports. Mexico also undertook to promote a reform of the status of the Inter-American tropical tuna Commission, to enable eventual membership to the EU. In its draft decision presented this week to the Council, the EU Commission said that in the meantime, some Member States have been authorised provisional membership.