US opposes Philippines’ appeal to limit rice imports at WTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ appeal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to stop the influx of imported rice is facing opposition from the United States government, which recently protested the country’s stricter regulations on meat handling, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said.

Alcala, in an interview with the media on Thursday, said the US government has decided to block the Philippines’ bid to limit the entry of foreign rice in the local market, a regulation meant to protect Filipino farmers from competing with cheap and subsidized foreign rice, in protest of a DA’s Administrative Order 22 issued in 2011.

The quantitative restriction (QR) on rice under the WTO allows the Philippines to limit the volume of rice that can be imported by the government every year, preventing a possible deluge of rice imports.

“They will block us on the QR because of our stance on AO 22,” Alcala said.

The government has pushed for a three-year extension of the QR, noting that Filipino farmers need protection and encouragement as the country wants to be rice-sufficient by 2013. The Philippines also wants to be a rice exporter in the coming years.

In January, the US Department of Agriculture asked the DA to suspend AO 22, saying it had affected the trade of meat and poultry to the Philippines.

American meat traders, through the US government, said the new rule has slowed down the issuance of permits for imported meat and poultry.

According to the USDA, US meat and poultry exports to the Philippines exceeded $100 million in 2010, up 40 and 50 percent.

The DA issued AO 22 in 2010, which took effect in December last year, to raise safety standards on imported meat and poultry, the agency said. The order mandates traders to establish cold chain systems to ensure the safety of the meat until it reaches the consumers in the groceries and in the public wet markets.

Temperature in the cold chain facilities should not be higher than 4 degrees Celcius, the order said. It also compels traders to be accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service.

Alcala said the DA would not budge on these “scientific” requirements, noting that it involved the health of the public. “We cannot sacrifice the safety,” he said. However, Alcala said negotiations between the DA and its American counterparts have been going on.

Sources from the DA said the Philippines issued tougher rules because of the differences between the local market environment and the US markets. The weather in the country is warmer and more humid, which calls for stricter handling rules.