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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
World Trade Organization dev't to benefit RP
THE Philippines is one of the developing countries to benefit from the Ministerial Declaration concluded during the 6th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held recently in Hong Kong, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
The WTO Ministerial Declaration contained elements that embrace developmental dimensions particularly in agriculture, such as the elimination of all forms of export subsidies by 2013.
The Philippines was among the 33 countries that insisted on a trade deal allowing developing nations to classify sensitive goods (e.g. agri-fishery products) as special products, and to resort to special safeguard measures (SSM), among others.
Under the package approved in Hong Kong, a developing country-member of the WTO has the flexibility to designate certain terms as special products, guided by indicators based on the criteria of food and livelihood security and rural development.
DTI-Southern Mindanao regional director Merly M. Cruz said that this development in the WTO would expedite the implementation of various measures or safeguard duties against import increases and price declines.
"Mindanao, being an agricultural region, will benefit so much from this," she said.
Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila, in a report, said that DTI welcomes "the clear direction given on how to operationalize the special products and special safeguard measures provisions embodied in the July 2004 framework."
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said that this WTO breakthrough will provide a robust base for negotiation for more flexible treatment, including no or at most minimal tariff reductions, for Philippine sensitive products.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 14, 2006 issue)
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