RP files new WTO suit vs Australia

The Philippine government is poised to file with the World Trade Organization (WTO) another complaint against Australia for imposing "unreasonable" conditions before it allows the entry of local pineapples.

Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano Jr. said the complaint is distinct and separate from the government’s earlier move to ask the WTO to create a panel that will resolve its dispute with Australia over the latter’s refusal to accept Philippine bananas.

"We are set to draft our formal grievance before the WTO and advance this into a complaint that will also require the creation of a dispute panel," Serrano said.

In its final import risk analysis (IRA) on pineapples two years earlier, Biosecurity Australia (BA), the Australian government agency that assesses the risk of disease from imported farm products, approved the importation of pineapples from the Philippines but only if the fruit is decrowned and treated with methyl bromide before and upon landing at Australian ports.

Pineapple exporters objected to such conditions because decrowning will accelerate the deterioration of the fruit even before it reaches Australia, while fumigating it using methyl bromide is not only expensive but is also banned in other pineapple-importing countries.

The Philippines is aggressively pursuing its case against Australia after the latter reversed its earlier decision to finally allow the imports of bananas from the Philippines and appears to be setting up more roadblocks in the form of more rigid quarantine measures for Philippine bananas and other fruits from the country.

This was indicated in a letter sent recently by Australian charge d’ affair Miles Armitage to Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr.

"Although the likely impact of correcting the spreadsheet error can only be determined on the basis of the import risk analysis (IRA) panel’s advice, a preliminary assessment has indicated that some quarantine measures may need to be strengthened," Armitage said.

Last Feb. 19, BA in its revised IRA report said it is safe for Philippines bananas to enter the Australian market, but a few weeks later, under intense pressure from the Australian Banana Growers Council, stunned the Philippines and said it made a mistake in the electronic spreadsheet used in estimating the risk for the banana IRA.

As a result, BA said it will have to reevaluate its findings and has assigned an expert panel to determine changes required to correct the error. After the panel’s submission of its recommendations of which no timetable is indicated, a new 60-day consultation period will start.

Local stakeholders are wondering whether the statistical error was just the latest of innumerable delays in Australia’s "labyrinthine IRA process."

"If the error were not major as the announcement from BA would have us believe, how come the addendum which they say will be forthcoming has not yet been issued up to now?" asked a fruit exporting firm manager from Davao.

Serrano added that the country’s interest is being prejudiced by the delay as well as its complaint with the WTO.

The BA decision angered the Philippine goverment and said it could take retaliatory measures against Australia.

"We are reviewing to what extent should we retaliate against Australia. There is intent to again delay our bid to have our products enter the Australian market," Lorenzo said earlier.

Lorenzo said the government could try to convince importing entities to limit their imports from Australia. These include imports of cattle and dairy products.

The Philippines buys 90 percent of its cattle requirements and also buys a huge chunk of dairy products from Australia.

It appears that what Australia did to us is another delaying tactic. It may be a technical oversight but we see it as a political maneuver. They are playing their game, they are the referees and they have been changing their rules all the time. How can we expect Australia to be trusted in the area of trade if they behave this way?" asked Lorenzo.

"Now we have more grounds to pursue our case started at the dispute settlement panel at the WTO," Lorenzo said.