RP to file formal trade complaint versus Australia

The Philippine government is set to file a formal trade complaint against Australia after the two groups failed to reach an agreement regarding the Philippines' proposal to export tropical fruits to Australia.

The STAR learned that the Department of Agriculture has already requested the Philippine mission in Geneva to seek constitution by the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a dispute settlement panel that will decide on the matter.

Under WTO rules, the disputing groups first have to try to settle the matter bilaterally. If the talks fail, then they can ask the WTO to decide on the matter. The United States has exhaustively utilized the dispute settlement arena and has succeeded in opening up several markets using this process.

A last-ditch attempt to arrive at a compromise was made yesterday when a high-level Australian delegation led by David Spencer, Australian deputy secretary for foreign affairs and trade, met with officials of the Philippine agriculture department to try to convince the latter to agree to the Australian stand on the matter.

Philippine imports of Australian beef and live cattle have significantly dropped since the DA, through Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara, initiated a boycott on agricultural imports from Australia in retaliation for the latter's refusal to act on the Philippine application to export mangoes, bananas, and pineapples.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Arsenio Balisacan and assistant secretary Ma. Cecilia Fernandez reiterated the Philippine position that it wants nothing less than a simultaneous processing of its application to export mangoes, pineapples, and bananas.

Spencer, together with Dr. Brian Stynes, assistant director of the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) plant quarantine policy branch had insisted on a sequential processing of the Philippine applications, citing resource constraints.

Balisacan said Spencer insisted that they cannot make an exception in the case of the Philippines, considering the number of countries also proposing to export their products to Australia.

But the Philippine panel noted that Australia made an exception in the case of the United States when it simultaneously processed the US application to export several products.

"Our proposal is not unprecedented. All we want is fair trade," Balisacan said, adding that he finds the Australian position weak considering that it is more of a policy to protect its loan industry rather than a technical issue.

Balisacan also noted that it is unbelievable that a rich country like Australia will cite resource constraints as a reason to reject the Philippine proposal.

During the meeting, Spencer and Stynes were joined by Michael Moignard, executive general manager for Southeast Asia of the Australian Trade Commission, and Tony Melville, Australian counsellor and deputy chief of mission to the Philippines. Moignard and Melville did not participate in the discussion.

Australia has already drafted a specific commodity understanding (SCU) for mangoes, hoping that the Philippines will agree to first having the mango export application processed, to be followed by bananas, and pineapples.

But Balisacan said the Philippines will not sign the SCU for mangoes until the Australians agree to process the export application for bananas and pineapples at the same time.

It has been almost a decade since the Philippines first sought Australian approval to export mangoes. "We expect the same to happen in the case of bananas and pineapples," the DA panel noted.