VENEZUELA RESTRICTS IMPORTS OF ECUADORIAN TUNA

UNCLAS QUITO 000667 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON EC SUBJECT: VENEZUELA RESTRICTS IMPORTS OF ECUADORIAN TUNA ¶1. (SBU) Cesar Rohon, President of Ecuador's National Fisheries Chamber, complained in the local media that Venezuela has imposed restrictions on Ecuadorian tuna imports. In 2006 Ecuador exported over USD 41 million in tuna products to Venezuela, which is Ecuador's principal tuna market in Latin America. Executive Director of the Fisheries Chamber, Rafael Trujillo, told Econoff that Ecuador's tuna exports would be restricted by Venezuela's Decree No. 33, which limits Venezuelan imports of food products if domestic production exists. He also asserted that the decree violates Venezuela's international trade obligations but did not provide specifics. ¶2. (U) The Fisheries Chamber provided Embassy with a copy of Decree No. 33 issued February 28 by Venezuela's Food Ministry. The decree requires that importers request advance certification that there is either no domestic production or insufficient domestic production of certain food products in order to obtain import licenses. Certain listed products are exempted from this process, but anything not listed requires advance certification. Tuna is not among the products exempted from advance certification. The Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) notes that this decree could harm approximately 30 percent of Ecuadorian exports to Venezuela including fish products and tuna, palm oils, fats, cocoa butter, and hearts of palm. GOE to the Rescue? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Fisheries Chamber has requested assistance on this issue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Under Secretary for International Economic Policy Fernando Yepez was to call in Venezuela's Commercial Attache to discuss the matter on March 20. A press release by the MFA stated that the GOE will sponsor a meeting with the Ambassadors of member countries of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) affected by the measure, to strategize and seek a solution to the issue. Econoff discussed the GOE's approach with Juan Francisco Ballen of Ecuador's Foreign Trade and Investment Council (COMEXI). Ballen believes Yepez will ask for Ecuador to be exempted from the decree, and may also seek to discuss the decree in the next scheduled ALADI meeting, since it could affect other ALADI members. Ballen thinks that Ecuador and Bolivia will jointly ask for an exemption from the decree at the next ALADI meeting, based on their lesser-developed country status. With Friends Like These ... -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Rohon complained in his press interview that the Venezuelan decree was a unilateral decision made for political reasons that will have a tremendous negative impact on Ecuador. He noted that bilateral relations between the two countries do not seem very good and that Venezuelan President Chavez seems to have a new policy of protecting local production, in spite of the fact that Venezuela has a marked deficit of food products. Ballen said that he does not understand why Venezuela would enact a broad decree such as this when Ecuador and Venezuela are supposed to be so close politically. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The Venezuelan trade decree has thus far been only a small hiccup in Venezuela's efforts to strengthen its ties with Ecuador, but does show that it will put its own interests ahead of certain sectors in Ecuador. However, other than Rohon's interview when he raised the problem and an MFA press release, the Venezuelan trade restriction has received little coverage in the Ecuadorian media. Given the breadth of the Venezuelan decree, we suspect it might also affect other Latin American food exports to Venezuela. JEWELL