Fair trade alliance launched

Leaders of various industries, businessmen, labor unions and non-government organizations launched yesterday the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) at the Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City to fight for the survival of Philippine industrial and agricultural firms against the onslaught of imported products.

Bearing the slogan "Fair Trade, not Free Trade," the FTA is a coming together of the labor, agriculture, and industry sectors under the initiative of Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) president Wigberto "Bobby" Tañada.

Representatives of these sectors signed the Unity Statement of the Alliance, which outlined a 16-point action plan in its vision of ensuring a "strong, vibrant, and sustainable economy capable of providing decent jobs to all Filipinos."

Foremost among these tasks is the review and reversal, if necessary, of the country’s trade policies and commitments to provide better protection for local industries.

During the press conference that followed, Philippine Cement Corporation president Dr. Francisco Viray announced that the Court of Appeals has issued a Temporary Restraining Order on the controversial injunction of the Safeguard Measures Act (Republic Act 8800) by Judge Floro Alejo of the Valenzuela Regional Trial Court, saying the law is unconstitutional.

The injunction, issued early September this year, rendered the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) unable to set tariff schedules for the cement and other industries. The industry is being wrung by competition from imported cement manufacturers, forcing it to lay off thousands of workers.

The FTA will stage a rally at the Supreme Court grounds at 10 a.m. Tuesday to file an administrative complaint against Judge Alejo.

Carlito Rallistan, president of Association of Democratic Labor Organizations (ADLO), emphasized the vulnerability of the common worker to the effects of globalization on a small player like the Philippines.

He challenged Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II to take advantage of the TRO and set a 50 percent tariff on imported cement. Otherwise, Rallistan warned, the FTA will put Roxas among the ranks of Judge Alejo and cement importers – "enemies of the laborers, enemies of the Filipino people."

Bayani Diwa, representative of the Unified Filipino Service Workers (UFSW), cited that the FTA is strong proof that labor and capital do not always go against each other. In the threat of dying businesses, both capitalists and laborers stand to lose.

Other organizations that joined the Alliance were the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU), National Labor Union (NLU), Philippine Ecumenical Action for Community Empowerment (PEACE) Foundation, Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Association, Philippine Sugar Millers Association, Philippine Starch Industrial Corporation, and the Automotive Workers’ Alliance.