AFTA tariff concession wasted by TRM decision, says Tañada

Former Sen. Wigberto "Bobby" Tañada, lead convenor of the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) said yesterday the President’s move to invoke a protocol that allows ASEAN countries to defer tariff reductions on certain products under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement-Common Effective Preferential Tariffs (AFTA-CEPT) has been wasted by the recent recommendation of the Tariff and Related Matters committee of slashing rather than maintaining or even increasing tariffs on resin and plastic imports.

"I think we have just wasted our opportunity," said Tañada. "We have knocked and the door opened, but we did not enter," he added.

The TRM, headed by Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II has recommended by the President the lowering of tariffs in resin imports from 15 percent to 10 percent even as the country earlier moved for the determent of tariff cuts on petrochemicals. The petrochemical issue has been the latest battle ground of sorts by groups fighting for the survival of local industries, including Tañada’s FTA, and neo-liberal economists pushing for full trade liberalization.

Tañada, however, said the President could still improve on the TRM recommendations when she issues an executive order before the year ends on the government’s final position. "We cannot be half-hearted in our trade negotiations with other countries. If we get concessions, we have to get them and benefit from them fully," he added.

Malaysia is the other country that invoked the protocol for its car industry that led it to impose 12 percent to 300 percent on automotive imports.

The FTA is a multi-sector organization of industry, labor, peasant and civil society groups battling for local industries and jobs threatened and severely affected by trade liberalization and globalization. In a meeting with the group last Sept. 21, the President declared that she is "not wedded to unbridled trade liberalization and vowed to review tariff reduction commitments made by earlier administrations.

But Tañada lamented that unbridled trade liberalization ideologues within government may have succeeded in undermining the position of the President.

Effective Jan. 1 next year, all imports from ASEAN countries will have a uniform tariff of from zero percent to five percent for petrochemicals which shall remain at 10 percent for the next two years, if the President upholds the TRM recommendations.