Agri group blames rich nations for collapse of WTO talks

The collapse of the WTO talks, blamed largely on the developed countries’ refusal to put an end to trade-distorting domestic and export subsidies in agriculture, opens doors for more lopsided bilateral trade agreements for developing countries like the Philippines.

"The failure of the talks could have dire consequences for poorer countries which now have little bargaining leverage. The collapse of the five-year negotiations of the Doha Development Round signals the entry of more abusive and unfair bilateral trade agreements for the Philippines," said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, Lead Convenor of Rice Watch and Action Network (R1).

R1, a coalition of rice-related non-government organizations and farmers groups also cautioned the government in pursuing bilateral trade agreements that are inconsistent with the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports that the country got in earlier WTO trade negotiations.

"Can the government consistently push for the interest of our local rice farmers against unlimited entry of subsidized rice from the United States through PL 480 and other rice exporting countries through the bilateral trade agreements, now waiting in the wings?" asked Cantos.

The Philippine and US governments are currently holding free trade talks in which the PL 480 is included.

Since bilateral agreements are inevitable, Cantos said the Philippine negotiating team should continue to push for the Special Products (SP) and Special Safeguards Mechanism (SSM) in the ongoing discussions.

Developing countries from the G-33 coalition led by Indonesia and the Philippines consistently pursued the SP and SSM in the WTO. SP refers to sensitive agricultural products that require more protection through exemption from further tariff cuts, while the SSM gives developing countries the flexibility to impose higher tariffs on some other measures, when there are surges in imports that would tend to bring down domestic prices of the same commodities.

As agreed in the WTO’s Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration last December, the Philippines is allowed to designate a specific number of SP or with zero or minimum tariff reduction.

The least that government can do is protect the local farmers against unfair competition with imported agricultural products as it espoused in its negotiating policy in the WTO.

"We are waiting to see this government’s consistency in pursuing agricultural trade policies whether in the multilateral trading system under the WTO or in a bilateral trading mode," said Cantos.