Tuna Trade War between Mexico and the United States

The tuna conflict between Mexico and the United States broke out in 1980 when the Mexican government seized six U.S. vessels fishing in Mexican waters without prior authorization and payment of duties which caused the U.S. government to embargo imports of yellowfin tuna from Mexico based on the Magnuson Marine Species Protection Act which was a serious blow to the Mexican tuna industry. Therefore a trade diversification policy was necessary for this industry since it was dependent on that market. Therefore this research will study the reasons why trade diversification policies are applied from the point of view of trade margins; in addition the economic impact caused by the tuna conflict between Mexico and the United States will be examined. We will also study the regulatory instances that Mexico applied to defend itself from the U.S. trade blockade. Finally the degree of trade diversification of this industry will be analyzed by applying the Gini coefficient to Mexican canned tuna exports.