VZCZCXYZ0008
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0667 0802051
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 212051Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6607
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6551
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 2464
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 0515
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1530
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 2087

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