Free trade negotiations between the European Union and nine island nations of the South Pacific have broken down over lack of agreement on tuna fishing after 10 years of talks.
Samoa, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu supply 25% of the world’s tuna, valued at about $2 billion a year.
The sticking point is European disquiet over global sourcing by tuna-fishing fleets operating around the islands. E.U. negotiators are demanding guarantees all tuna shipped to Europe will be from the region.
