PH faces WTO sanctions for rice importation policy

Customs Commissioner John Sevilla: Sticking with no rice import permit, no entry policy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—No rice import permit, no entry.

Customs Commissioner John Sevilla on Thursday said this directive will be observed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in monitoring rice imports in the country’s ports amid a legal opinion by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) that the country stands to be sanctioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) if it maintains this policy.

The special treatment for rice imports had expired in June last year.

“The lawyer of the BOC is not the OGCC,” Sevilla told reporters, admitting that he has yet read to the legal opinion issued by Government Corporate Counsel Raoul Creencia.

He said his office will await the opinion on the matter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Supreme Court, where there is a pending case related to this issue.

Asked whether this policy will be observed until the DOJ issues its legal opinion, Sevilla said, “I’m not going to talk about the future but with the legal circumstances right now, that’s it (no permit, no entry).”

Creencia had written the National Food Authority early this month warning that Manila may face sanctions before the WTO if it continues to impose quantitative restrictions on rice imports.

Creencia said the special treatment on rice for the country on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade had expired in June last year and that other WTO member-countries may file dispute proceedings against the country if it continues with the restrictions on rice imports.