Appeal WTO tax decision, local distillers urge gov’t
THE DISTILLED Spirits Association of the Philippines (DSAP) has urged the Philippine government to appeal the decision of the World Trade Organization declaring as illegal a local tax on imported alchohol brands.
“The battle isn’t over for the local distilled spirits industry,” DSAP said in a statement Friday.
The group—composed of the largest local distillers—said the country must appeal the WTO’s ruling “because of its adverse impact on local manufacturers, allied industries, the Filipino consumers and the economy in general.”
“DSAP believes that until the issue is resolved by WTO’s Appellate Body, the rulings are not binding on the parties,” it added.
Earlier this week, a WTO legal panel issued a confidential ruling that Philippine taxes on spirits discriminate against brands such as Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam, as well as Spain’s Brandy de Jerez, while allegedly favoring domestic producers that use alcohol derived from locally grown sources.
DSAP said its members are aware of critical matters that need to be brought to the attention of the Appellate Body by the Philippine government. It said DSAP members are closely working with Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz, co-counsel former Justice Florentino Feliciano of SyCiplaw Office and Gregory Spak of White & Case in Geneva to fight for the Philippines’ rights under the 1994 General Agreement on Tariff and Trade and the WTO dispute settlement system.
“As far as the distilled spirits industry is concerned, the Philippines has never discriminated against any imported product,” the group said. “There’s a whole range of imported brands in the country. Products such as Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam are priced much higher than domestic brands even without the taxes. Hence, they simply do not compete in the same market as local brands.”
The group is composed of Destileria Limtuaco, San Miguel Corp., Ginebra San Miguel Inc., Tanduay Distillers Inc., Emperador Distillers, Alcohol Distilleries-Absolute Chemicals Inc., Consolidated Distillery Inc., Far East Alcohol Inc., Central Azucarera de Tarlac and Berbacs Chemicals.
