Phl expects favorable responses from US, Australia, Canada, Thailand on rice QR

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture is confident that the Philippines would obtain the consensus of the four remaining countries it is in talks with for the continued imposition of a special restriction on rice imports next month. Australia, United States, Canada and Thailand are seeking concessions for various farm products in exchange for giving their endorsement to the Philippine’s request to impose its Quantitative Restriction (QR) on rice imports until 2017.

Thailand, in particular, is seeking a larger allocation under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) country-specific quota (CSQ).

Last year, the Philippines obtained the endorsement of China, India and Indonesia for the continued imposition of the QR on rice. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Romero Recide, who is in the negotiating panel of the Philippine delegation, said the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Trade in Goods (CTG) is expected to meet on April 9, during which the Philippines’ petition for QR extension would be taken up.

“We are very positive that we will acquire consensus with interested countries, which would allow us to operate under a new quantitative restriction extension,” said Recide.

Manila wants to impose until 2017 a 40-percent tariff on rice imported within the 350,000 metric ton (MT) minimum access volume (MAV) and a duty of 50 percent for volume imported outside the MAV.

This will enable the government to strengthen the domestic rice industry before free trade is enforced within Southeast Asia by 2015. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala recently said there are no perceived problems for obtaining the consensus of the remaining
countries.

“We hope to settle everything by April. We don’t see any requests that cannot be accommodated,” he said.