RP wants industrial products included in early harvest pact with China

The Philippines will not agree to an early harvest agreement with China if it does not agree to include industrial products in the list of items subject to such an arrangement, Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II said yesterday.

Roxas said China has offered only agricultural products, mainly vegetables, to be included under the early harvest agreement.

"The Philippines is apprehensive that limiting the early harvest arrangement to agricultural products of vegetables would be disadvantageous to the Philippines as Chinese vegetables, which are more efficiently pro-duced, would swamp the local market," Roxas said.

On the other hand, Roxas said, the Philippines would have a fighting chance if industrial products are included in the early harvest arrangement.

The early harvest arrangement is a prelude to a free trade agreement between China and the ASEAN-member countries by 2010.

ASEAN-member countries are expected to draw a list of products which can be included in the early harvest arrangement.

In the case of the Philippines, the technical working group of the Cabinet-level Trade and Related Matters (TRM) committee which has been asked to come up with the list has given two options for the TRM to take up.

One is to conduct a further review of the proposed arrangement, thereby delaying the scheme while the other one is an outright rejection of the proposal.

The TRM is scheduled to take up the matter this week. – Marianne Go