Group bats for adjustments in trade, agri

The Arroyo administration has been asked to immediately address the serious distortions in trade, industry and agriculture as a result of the country’s accession to globalization under the World Trade Organization.

The Fair Trade Alliance was formally launched into a forum by convenors that included former senator and now president of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement Wigberto Tañada, former Finance Secretary Vicente Jayme, business leader Raul Concepcion, Dean Rene Ofreneo of the University of the Philippines, former Congressman Edcel Lagman and leaders of peasant, labor and industry groups.

In a statement, the FTA said it acknowledges the Arroyo administration’s efforts are meaningful reforms in governance such as policies on transparency, accountability and tax and fiscal reforms. But it views with equal concern the urgency of addressing reforms in trade, industrial and agricultural policies.

While the Philippines opened its doors to globalization, its economy has not grown since the early 1960s as against those of its neighbors like Malaysia and Thailand, whose industrial employment has doubled, the FTA said.

"This indicates the terrible error or just opening up the economy without considering the level of readiness and development of local industries and without addressing the basic problems of business and industry such as high cost of capital, expensive and inadequate infrastructures, lack of credit facility and other support institutions, absence of research and development, limited inter-industry linkages and other institutional obstacles which make the cost of doing business in the Philippines very high," the group said.

It added that without the necessary preparations, Philippine industries and jobs are easily wiped out. "The national landscape is littered with the carcasses of industries and enterprises which have collapsed — textile, shoe, steel, tile etc and those that remain standing are on the brink of collapse such as cement, battery, garment, rubber and others" the FTA said.

Worse, Philippine agriculture has become a "wasteland except for banana, pineapple and few other export crops. But most crops are withering away under the liberalization program which includes tobacco, coconut, sugar, onion, garlic, cassava, coffee and others which are fast disappearing," the FTA said.

The group pointed out that Japan and Europe have maintained their subsidies and support to agriculture, reaching as high as 600 percent of production costs. Australia has used phyto sanitary measures as stumbling blocks to trade against Philippine bananas while maintaining their wine, juice, meat and agricultural export offensive in the Philippines.

The group also decried the government’s failure to take action against a municipal judge from making a mockery of the safeguard measures act, calling it unconstitutional and stopping the implementation of an executive order to eradicate rampant abuse of duty free privileges.

The group also called on Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas to immediately act on the demand of the cement industry for a 50 percent tariff on imported cement now that a restraining order is in effect against the injunction issued by the court.

"There is no more reason for Secretary Roxas to dilly daily on the petition of the cement industry. We need to prevent the loss of more jobs among cement workers whose companies are severely affected by the dumping of imported cement," the group said.

Labor leader Carlito Rallistan of the Association of Democratic Labor Organizations and co-convenor of FTA, also urged the government to retaliate the recent action of Taiwan imposing 65 percent tariff against Philippine cement entering the Taiwanese market, reportedly upon the bidding of Taiwan Cement Corp, which is a major importer of cement to the Philippines.