Spain bucks new RP rule on meat imports

Spain is objecting to the proposed amendments to Administrative Order 39 (AO 39) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) which it said uses the veterinary quarantine clearance (VQC) to restrict international trade of meat products.

"The measure is harsh, impractical and unrealistic," said Jose Miguel Cortes, economic and commercial counselor of the Spanish embassy in Manila in a letter to Agriculture Undersecretary Arthur Yap who heads Task Force AO 39.

Cortes warned of unnecessary strains in the diplomatic relations between the two countries if the DA insists on requiring both meat importers and exporters to secure a VQC before they are allowed to transport meat to the Philippines.

The VQC is a document issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry granting a permit to import meat and meat products as provided for in AO 39.

Before AO 39 was issued, the VQC was routinely issued to importers to authorize the release of covered imported goods from the piers prior to payment of corresponding duties and taxes to the Bureau of Customs. The VQC was issued regardless of transport status of the shipment – before loading, in transit or arrived at port of destination.

The revised AO 39 requires the issuance of VQCs at the port of origin, which Spain, and other countries objecting to it, said constitutes unfair trade restriction. They said this is inconsistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on import licensing procedures as well as the application of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.

Cortes pointed out in his letter that any unnecessary regulations which are not in conflict with the WTO SPS measures are considered by Spain as superfluous and redundant.

"We may even be led to believe that some of these measures are virtual non-tariff barriers. You may likewise note that some proposed measures question or disregard the validity and competence of our own government’s internationally accepted veterinary clearances as well as the veterinary inspection procedures of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture which is currently recognized throughout the entire European Union as well as in other WTO member-countries," said Cortes.

Moreover, Cortes said that Spain cannot base the issuance of an import veterinary clearance on the requirements set by the VQCs issued by the DA.

"These are matters that should be agreed between the Philippine delegation to the European Commission in Brussels and the European Commission," said Cortes.

Diplomatic staff in Manila, including those of the US and Canada, recently met to discuss their stand on AO 39. It was agreed that while they will take a common position on the matter, each country can file their separate petitions or comments to AO 39.