|
Friday, August 23, 2002
Pinoys to get P2.5B in aid
By Cherry T. Lim
THE European Union expects to pour in some P2.5 billion into the Philippines in the form of aid in the next two to three years.
“Over the next two to three years, 50 million euro will be made available for development cooperation activities in the form of grant money geared to poverty reduction,” said Ambassador Jan de Kok, head of delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines.
In an interview yesterday at Cebu City Marriott Hotel, he said the bulk of this, or some 40 to 50 percent of this, would probably go to Min-danao because of the thrust of poverty reduction.
Agriculture
He said the EU was willing to work with local governments, the private sector, nongovernment organizations and civil society in its efforts to make this money available, particularly in the areas of agricultural reform, health, environmental matters, and better utilization of natural resources including land and forests.
The ambassador emphasized the EU’s commitment to developing countries, saying, “We are committed to the Doha Development Round under the World Trade Organization.”
However, in regard to the Philippines’ clamor to have tariffs of its canned tuna reduced in the European Union, he could only hope for a “mutually beneficial outcome.”
The matter is now up for arbitration in Geneva under the auspices of the World Trade Organization.
Lower tariffs
According to reports, the Philippines is batting to lower duties on its canned tuna exports from 24 percent at present to between zero and five percent. At present, canned tuna from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries enter the EU duty free.
To indirectly help the Philippines enter European markets, however, he said the delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines was now putting together a package of trade-related technical assistance for the Philippines.
He said this would enable the EC to share its expertise with the Philippines in trade matters that the latter may not have enough knowledge of, for example in complying with WTO rules in terms of services, in dealing with trade and the environment, and in determining why some investors prefer to invest in other Asian countries rather than the Philippines.
For this package, the delegation would mainly work with the Department of Trade and Industry and other government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Finance, and possibly even the Bureau of Customs.
Agustin Palao, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Council in Cebu, said Cebu exporters did not experience so many protectionist barriers in Europe, and that if exporters could not get in, the more likely reason would be that they had yet to come up with the right product.
Using euro
As regards adopting the euro in trade transactions, the ambassador said: “I will do anything possible to make the euro more visible. But to drum up more support for the euro is really more up to the banks and financial institutions to discuss with their clients whether they want to use it or not.”
Some 12 countries in Europe have adopted the euro as their common currency.
Palao said exporters continued to use the US dollar as the currency for transactions because “European buyers do not require us to deal in euro.”
As for the peso weakening to the 52 level against the dollar, he said exporters were not necessarily happier, despite the fact that they could now get more pesos for their dollars, because their local suppliers had also jacked up their prices accordingly.
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
