PCCI wants gov’t to reassess stand on liberalization

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) wants the government to reassess its headlong rush to liberalization.

In a press briefing, PCCI president Noemi Saludo and PCCI vice president for national issues Donald Dee stressed the need for the government to use its safeguard measures more effectively against products being dumped by other manufacturing countries.

Dee clarified that the PCCI is not asking the government to go back on its commitment to liberalize.

"You will all recall that in the last few years, under our agreement with the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), we have reduced under CEPT (Common Effective Preferential Tariff) our tariff lines to an average of zero to five percent. This, PCCI wants therefore, caused very serious destruction in the domestic industry," Dee said.

Rather, Dee explained, the PCCI merely wants the government to more effectively implement the Safeguard Measures Law which imposes temporary duties and tariff on products that are being dumped.

He elaborated, "We are not suggesting a change of course, but we should selectively look at the sectors that need help."

Dee continued that "we are proposing certain changes… adjustments of tariff lines from the present applied rates to bound rates… to protect the local industry."

Further, Dee said, "it is not only a tariff mechanism, it is also a mechanism of selectively looking at our sources of supply and identifying if they are any supply source that is subsidizing or dumping their products."

He explained that "it is really an approach, we look at the sectors, we look at the supply source within the sector and we look at which supply sources should be slapped safety nets." The areas the PCCI has initially looked at are steel, textiles especially towels, and tiles.

Dee acknowledged that the government already has a safeguard law and as much "we should now be more active in implementing the so-called safeguards such as anti-dumping, countervailing duties and the like."