PH urges Thailand to comply with WTO ruling

MANILA, Philippines — Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez urged Thailand to give the Philippines what is due to the country after the former unfairly treated cigarettes imported from the Philippines.

This developed after the World Trade Organization (WTO) sided with the Philippines on July 12 and upheld the country’s claims that Thailand violated WTO law on customs valuation.

“This WTO dispute has been going on for more than 10 years now, Thailand has lost all three panel and appellate rulings, and it is about time that Thailand accepts the rulings and implement the customs valuation reforms called for by those rulings,” Lopez said.

The Philippines in 2008 asked the WTO panel to look into measures that the Thai government imposed on imported cigarettes.

The complaint to the WTO was filed on behalf of Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc., which cited the Thai government’s bias against imported cigarette brands, such as in terms of the customs valuation practices, among others.