PHL to WTO: Rice trade lib regime stays as is

THE Marcos Jr. administration will not amend the country’s current rice trade regime, which was liberalized in 2019, according to the Philippines’s official communication to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In a statement to the WTO Committee on Agriculture, the Philippines said it is “not considering” any modifications on its current rice trade regime.

“We would like to inform the Committee that the Philippines is not considering modifying its import regime on rice,” Manila said recently.

Manila’s statement was an actual response to a query raised by Washington regarding publicized proposals or plans by previous Philippine government authorities about reviewing the country’s rice trade regime.

The Philippines liberalized its rice trade regime in March 2019 following the enactment of Republic Act 11203 or the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.

Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita A. Sombilla said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is conducting a mid-term review of the RTL law to determine its impact on the rice sector after three years.

Sombilla added that a review of the entire RTL law will be conducted in 2024.

“Right now, we don’t see any amendments to the provisions. What we are seeing in terms of the impact of the law has been really positive,” she said in a recent press briefing.

Monetary Board member V. Bruce J. Tolentino said the Philippines’s communication to the WTO shows the country’s commitment of “maintaining” its “gains” from the liberalization of its rice trade regime.

“This is an official affirmation to the international community that the Philippines will maintain its reform gains in rice trade,” Tolentino told the BUSINESSMIRROR,

‘Vaguely worded’

FEDERATION of Free Farmers (FFF) national manager Raul Q. Montemayor said the Philippines’s statement is “vaguely worded” and does not entirely close the doors on the possibility of amending the RTL law.

Montemayor argued that the national government could still put in place various mechanisms that would allow it to have “better” control over rice imports while keeping the rice tariffication in place.

These mechanisms, Montemayor said, include restoration of import licensing, strengthening usage of trade remedies such as safeguard duties, tighter import controls to curb smuggling, under

valuation and misdeclaration, which he noted is allowed under the WTO rules.

“Congress will still have the prerogative to amend the law. Congress can even restore the import monopoly of [National Food Authority] and NFA will just issue quotas to the private sector to import,” he told the Businessmirror.

“Even if the tariffication is preserved, Congress and/or the Executive can still adopt measures to have a better control over imports,” he added.

The liberalization of the country’s rice trade regime led to a streamlined importation process, with eligible importers only needing to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) prior to importation.

Since 2019, the Philippines’s rice imports have been steadily increasing and eventually made it the world’s second biggest buyer of the grain.

The Businessmirror earlier reported that the country’s rice imports this year have breached 3.6 million metric tons, posting a new record volume.