Mexican Tuna Embargo Slated to End Next Week

Diplomatic sources confirmed Tuesday that a longtime irritant in U.S.-Mexico relations will be removed next week with the end of a six-year embargo on imports of Mexican tuna.

As part of the agreement, sources said, Mexico has agreed to voluntarily limit tuna shipments to the United States, a move that would provide protection for U.S. fishermen already reeling from foreign competition and low prices for tuna in the international market.

Lifting of the embargo is to be officially announced during the Washington meeting Aug. 13 of President Reagan and Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, the sources said.

News of the embargo’s lifting is expected to provide a boost for De la Madrid, whose image has been eroded by a severe economic crisis that has resulted in declining living standards for most Mexicans.

The possibility of ending the embargo was disclosed Monday by former Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin during a trip to San Diego. Gavin said Tuesday that he was “hopeful” that the embargo would be ended, but he would not confirm that any definitive decision had been reached.

But diplomatic sources in Washington and Mexico City confirmed that an agreement for lifting the agreement has been reached.

“We’ve had discussions, and I hope that the discussions will be fruitful,” Gavin said, adding that he continued to work on the tuna negotiations as a State Department consultant after stepping down from his ambassador’s post last May.

The talks between Mexico and the United States stemmed from the “tuna wars,” as the fishing dispute between the two nations became known. The U.S. embargo, imposed in July, 1980, was prompted by Mexico’s seizure of U.S. boats which had been fishing in the Pacific within Mexico’s 200-mile offshore territorial limit.

The United States does not recognize the 200-mile limit in fishing for tuna, which are found in abundance in the eastern Pacific. However, officials of Mexico and other Latin American nations claim exclusive right to tuna caught within 200 miles of their shores. U.S. boats that fish within the 200-mile limits do so at their own risk.

Under the proposed agreement, sources said, Mexico is expected to voluntarily limit its export of tuna to the United States to an undisclosed amount. That decision is important because of the potential impact of Mexican tuna on the already troubled tuna fishing industry.

August Felando, president of the American Tunaboat Assn., said he hoped the renewed import of Mexican tuna would not create another problem for U.S. fishermen. “It’s in the Mexicans’ interest not to flood the market,” Felando said.

Gavin said the concerns of U.S. fishermen had been considered during the negotiations. “It’s an important point not to destabilize a market that has become more and more destabilized in the last few years,” Gavin said.

In recent years, Mexico has upgraded its tuna fleet and expanded its catch. This year, a State Department official said, Mexico’s total tuna catch is expected to exceed 100,000 tons; much of it is exported in an effort to generate much-needed foreign currency.

Before the embargo, Mexico regularly exported large amounts of tuna into the United States, including more than $20 million worth of tuna sold to the United States in 1979, according to State Department figures.