MANILA, Philippines - The United States has not asked for additional concessions in exchange for its support to the Philippines’ bid for an extension of its special restriction on rice imports, asking instead to be allowed continued market access for its traditional export products.
“Their existing concessions would just be continued,†said Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy Segfredo Serrano.
He said there would just be minor additions like, turkey meat.
The United States currently exports to the Philippines meat products, wheat, soybean meal, and dairy products among others.
The Philippines is still awaiting the consensus of three other countries for the continued imposition of high duties on rice imports until 2017.
Still negotiating with the Philippines are Thailand, Australia, and Canada.
Serrano said negotiations with Thailand have been smooth sailing but the neighboring Southeast Asian nation cannot make commitments yet because of a still ongoing political crisis.
“So we are praying that there will be peace and stability in Thailand so the government would be able to make a decision,†said Serrano.
Negotiations with Canada and Australia, he said, have been within “reasonable†parameters.
“Our negotiations with them have been reasonable. I cannot disclose what concessions they are seeking, but we have told them not to ask for concessions to sensitive commodities and to limit requests for concessions within the agriculture sector,†he said.
The country’s bid or the extension of its quantitative restriction (QRs) on rice would be taken up during the special meeting of the World Trade Organization Committee on Trade in Goods in June.
Manila wants to impose until 2017 a 40-percent tariff on rice imported within the 350,000 metric ton (MT) minimum access volume (MAV) and a duty of 50 percent for volume imported outside the MAV.
This would enable the government to strengthen the domestic rice industry before free trade is enforced within Southeast Asia by 2015.