RP’s WTO panel urged to protect country’s interest

Oxfam is urging Philippine negotiators in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to retain control over the country’s industrial and development policies, including the use of tariffs in non-agricultural products.

Oxfam made the appeal yesterday as Philippine trade negotiators prepare the country’s position in the negotiations for Non-Agriculture Market Access (NAMA) in Geneva.

According to Shalimar Vitan of Oxfam, "all of the successful industrialization of the past used tariff protection to develop their industrial base including the US, UK, Germany, East Asian Tigers and others."

Vitan, local policy coordinator of Oxfam, is also urging Philippine negotiators to ensure that the formula for tariff reduction would provide for enough space, time and flexibility for the local industries.

"Ambitious, and fast-track liberalization of trade in fish products and industrial goods would be disastrous for the Filipinos and will surely, be a recipe for increased poverty," Vitan said.

The NAMA group of 11 developing countries argued in their March 20, 2006 submission to the WTO Negotiating Group on NAMA that developing countries should undertake lesser percentage reductions in their tariffs as compared to that of developed countries.

The NAMA 11 is composed of Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela, and the Philippines.

"We support this position of the NAMA 11. It presents a good indicator that developing countries are pushing for the principle of less than full reciprocity in the Doha Development Round," said Vitan.

Vitan also urged the Department of Trade and Industry to include the small fisheries sector in discussions of the Joint Consultative Committee on NAMA.

DTI formed the body to recommend positions to the Philippine negotiating team on NAMA.

"Government negotiators should push for a bigger number in the coverage of unbound tariffs and uphold the special and differential treatment principle of this round," Vitan said.

The Philippines would likely get only five percent of total tariff lines in non-agricultural products including fisheries.

The fisheries sector has been lobbying the DTI to retain the unbound tariff lines of fish products as unbound.

Vitan said the battle shifts to Geneva as the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration sets the deadline for full modalities in agriculture and NAMA on April 30, 2006.

The schedule of implementation of the WTO members’ commitments will be finalized in July 2006.