RP trade panel urged to resist accelerated tariff liberalization

Philippine trade negotiators in the current World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Geneva on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) should exert more effort in ensuring that the country does not agree to another round of accelerated liberalization of tariffs.

In a press conference, five umbrella organizations yesterday gave their proposal for the minimum position the Philippines should adopt during the NAMA negotiations from April 19 to 21.

The five umbrella organizations are the Fair Trade Alliance, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Philippine Industries, Philippine Exporters’ Foundation and the Alyansa Agrikultura.

They propose a minimum coefficient of 35 up to 50 points. They compute that targetting a coefficient of 50 would maximize the current policy space of NAMA tariff lines whose average bound rates is pegged at 23 percent.

A higher coefficient would allow for a slower reduction of bound rates.

Likewise, the five umbrella organization urged the country’s trade negotiators to insist on an exclusion list of at least 10 percent which would cover 506 tariff lines instead of agreeing to just five percent which would cover only 253 tariff lines.

The exclusion list refers to the list of tariff lines which would remain unbound.

Former Trade Undersecretary Ernesto Ordoñez who now represents the Alyansa Agrikultura pointed out that "rapid liberalization has done more harm than good."

The Philippines, the five umbrella organization warned, in the past had already adopted a rapid liberalization which has led to the demise of several strategic industries and now threatens remaining industries such as petrochemical, cement, iron and steel, fishery, footwear and automotive parts.

The Philippines, like most other developing countries, needs more policy space and should not be forced to compete on the same level as highly industrialized countries which would benefit from increased liberalization, the five umbrella organization argued.