RP, Thailand in talks to avoid trade dispute

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Thailand are negotiating to avoid a trade dispute triggered by the Philippines’ refusal to bring down its tariff barrier on rice products under the soon to be implemented ASEAN Free Trade Arrangement-Common Effective Preferential Tariff (AFTA-CEPT) scheme.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved soon and that whatever agreement is reached “it is going to be good for the Philippines.”

Appearing to back down from his earlier hardline stance that the Philippines will not bring down its tariff on rice under the AFTA-CEPT, Yap said negotiations are currently in a “state of flux” with talks ongoing between the two countries.

He pointed out that President Arroyo is scheduled to go to Thailand to attend the next APEC meeting. Even if the matter is not taken up during the President’s visit to Thailand, Yap assured, Philippine and Thail negotiators are already trying to resolve the issue.

Thailand has issued a threat that it would not ratify the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) if the Philippines does not agree to reduce to 20 percent its current 40-percent tariff on rice.

Under the AFTA-CEPT, member nations had agreed to bring down next year their tariffs on a range of products to between zero and five percent, including those earlier placed in the sensitive list.

The Philippines is trying to put rice under the highly sensitive list which would allow it a little more time to keep tariff barriers up until 2012 in line with the country’s multilateral commitment under the World Trade Organization.

Yap, refused to comment on Thailand’s announcement that it wants a bigger concession of 360,000 tons under the quantitative restriction (QR) allocation instead of the 50,000 tons that the Philippines had initially offered.