Decision

6 November 2025: Decision No. 1/2025 of Customs Cooperation Committee on preserved tuna and tuna loins

Updated 11 November 2025

DECISION No. 1/2025 OF THE CUSTOMS COOPERATION COMMITTEE on a derogation from the rules of origin in Protocol 1 to the Agreement establishing an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States, on the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on the other part, with regard to preserved tuna and tuna loins.

THE CUSTOMS COOPERATION COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Agreement establishing an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States (the “ESA States”), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the “United Kingdom”), done at London on 31 January 2019 (the “Agreement”), and in particular Article 41(4) of Protocol 1 thereto,

Having regard to Decision No.1/2024 of the UK-ESA States Economic Partnership Agreement Committee amending certain provisions of Protocol 1 to the Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of “originating products” and methods of administrative co-operation (“Decision No.1/2024”),

Whereas:  

1. Protocol 1 to the Agreement concerning the definition of the concept of ‘originating products’ and methods of administrative cooperation (“Protocol 1”) contains the rules of origin for the importation of products originating in the ESA States into the United Kingdom.

2. In accordance with Article 42(8) of Protocol 1 to the Agreement, as amended by Decision No.1/2024, derogations from those rules of origin are granted automatically within an annual quota of 10,000 tonnes for canned tuna and of 340 tonnes for tuna loins.

3. A derogation was granted by Decision No. 1 of the Customs Cooperation Committee of 19 January 2021 for a period of five years, and that period expires on 31 December 2025.

4. An application has been submitted in accordance with Article 42(8) of Protocol 1 for a derogation covering the annual quantities of 10,000 tonnes of canned tuna and of 340 tonnes of tuna loins imported into the United Kingdom for a further five years covering the period 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030.

5. Since the annual quota is granted automatically upon request of the ESA States, the Customs Cooperation Committee should allocate the quota to the ESA States in respect of canned tuna and of tuna loins for the quantities requested.

6. The reference in Article 42(8) of Protocol 1 to the Agreement to “canned tuna” is to be understood to cover tuna preserved in vegetable oil or in other ways. For those types of tuna, the Tariff of the United Kingdom refers to the term “preserved”. The term “preserved tuna” comprises canned tuna, but also tuna vacuum-packed in plastic bags or other containers. It is therefore appropriate to use the term “preserved tuna”.

7. In the interest of clarity, it is appropriate to set out explicitly that the non-originating tuna to be used for the manufacture of preserved tuna and tuna loins should be tuna of HS Headings 0302 or 0303, in order for the preserved tuna and tuna loins to benefit from the derogation.

8. In order to allow efficient monitoring of the operation of the derogation, the authorities of the ESA States should communicate regularly to the United Kingdom, via the Customs Cooperation Committee, details of the EUR.1 movement certificates issued.

9. The ESA States and the United Kingdom agree that provision should be made for this derogation to be renewed without a new decision of the Committee being necessary, in accordance with paragraph 10(b) of Article 42 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement.

Has decided as follows:  

Article 1

1. By way of derogation from Protocol 1 to the Agreement and in accordance with Article 42(8) of that Protocol, preserved tuna and tuna loins of HS Heading 1604 manufactured from non-originating tuna of HS Headings 0302 or 0303 shall be regarded as originating in an ESA State within an annual quota.

2. The United Kingdom shall open an annual quota of 10,000 tonnes for preserved tuna that originates in an ESA State in accordance with this derogation. The quota shall cover products classified under the commodity codes set out in the Annex to this Decision. The quota period shall run from 1 January to 31 December each year, beginning on 1 January 2026. The quota shall expire on 31 December 2030, unless it is extended in accordance with the procedure in Article 4 of this Decision.

3. The United Kingdom shall open an annual quota of 340 tonnes for tuna loins that originate in an ESA State in accordance with this derogation. The quota shall cover products classified under the commodity codes set out in the Annex to this Decision. The quota period shall run from 1 January to 31 December each year, beginning on 1 January 2026. The quota shall expire on 31 December 2030, unless it is extended in accordance with the procedure in Article 4 of this Decision.

Article 2

1. The customs authorities of the ESA States shall carry out quantitative checks on exports of the products referred to in Article 1.

2. Before the end of the month following each quarter, the customs authorities of those countries shall forward to the United Kingdom, via the Customs Cooperation Committee, a statement of the quantities in respect of which movement certificates EUR.1 have been issued pursuant to this Decision and the serial numbers of those certificates.

3. A proof of origin issued or made out pursuant to this Decision shall contain one of the following indications:

‘Derogation — Decision No 1/2025 of the ESA-UK Customs Cooperation Committee, entered into force on 1 January 2026’

‘Dérogation — Décision no 1/2025 du comité de coopération douanière AfOA-RU, entré en vigueur le 1 Janvier 2026’

These statements shall be contained in box 7 of movement certificates EUR.1 referred to in Article 17 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement, or shall be added to the invoice declaration referred to in Article 21 of Protocol 1 to the Agreement.

Article 3

1. The ESA States and the United Kingdom shall take the measures necessary on their part to implement this Decision.
2. Where the United Kingdom has made a finding, on the basis of objective information, of irregularities or fraud or of a repeated failure to respect the obligations laid down in Article 2, the United Kingdom may seek temporary suspension of the derogation referred to in Article 1 in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 21(5) and (6) of the Agreement.

Article 4

1. The derogation in Article 1 may be renewed for a further period provided that the ESA States submit to the United Kingdom via the Customs Cooperation Committee, three months before the expiry of the quota period, an application for extension.

2. If any objection is made to the extension, the Committee shall examine it as soon as possible and decide whether to prolong the derogation, in accordance with the procedures in Article 42 of Protocol 1.

3. If no objection is made to the extension, the derogation in Article 1 shall be renewed for a further period, to be determined by the United Kingdom and confirmed with ESA States or States concerned. The United Kingdom will publish a notice of the extension on a publicly available website.

Article 5

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Done in duplicate in London and Port Louis on 6 November 2025.

Annex

Preserved tuna (1)

(1) In any form of packaging whereby the product is considered as preserved within the meaning of HS Heading 1604.

Quota number: 051618

Commodity codes:

• 1604 14 21
• 1604 14 28
• 1604 14 31
• 1604 14 38
• 1604 14 41
• 1604 14 48
• 1604 20 70 30
• 1604 20 70 40
• 1604 20 70 50
• 1604 20 70 92
• 1604 20 70 94

Period	Quota net weight (tonnes)
1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026	10,000
1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027	10,000
1 January 2028 to 31 December 2028	10,000
1 January 2029 to 31 December 2029	10,000
1 January 2030 to 31 December 2030	10,000

Tuna loins

Quota number: 051619

Commodity codes:

• 1604 14 26
• 1604 14 36
• 1604 14 46

Period	Quota net weight (tonnes)
1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026	340
1 January 2027 to 31 December 2027	340
1 January 2028 to 31 December 2028	340
1 January 2029 to 31 December 2029	340
1 January 2030 to 31 December 2030	340