Aug
18
Fish canning factory. (Photo Credit: T.Ezcurra)
Agreement with Thailand would affect 7,000 workers of canning sector
SPAIN
Friday, August 16, 2013, 22:40 (GMT + 9)
The coalition Alternative Galega de Esquerda (AGE) warns of the possible “disappearance of more than 7,000 jobs in the Galician canning industry” if the free trade agreement (FTA) that the European Union (EU) is negotiating with Thailand is approved.
In this regard, AGE Deputy Juan Manuel Fajardo explained that “competition of tariffs in the Thai tuna canning industry” would make part of this Galician industry “unsustainable” because “it would present these products in the EU at very low prices.”
This is due to the “zero labour costs resulting from the exploitation of the Thai working class” and to the “production and fishing methods that are out of control and to the environmental hygienic requirements of the EU,” Fajardo continued saying.
AGE also criticizes the fact that “the treaty intends to introduce amendments to be able to import clean tuna loins from Thailand with the aim of packaging this product in Galicia and cutting labour costs.”
For AGE, there is a possibility that “products that are not Galician can be presented as such.”
In this regard, it stressed that Galicia has experience from what happened with the Chilean mussel, “which currently accounts for 70 per cent of which is marketed in Galicia.”
For this reason, AGE urges the Xunta of Galicia to “show its rejection” before the Government and the European Commission (EC).
Related article:
– The Spanish and Portuguese request canned tuna exclusion from FTA with Thailand
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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