Manga walang hiyang Amerikano din may kasalan... Pati sa ating baboy industry nakikialam sila... Gusto nila maging bagsakan ang Pilipinas nang excess supply galing Tate... Kung hindi tayo papayag.... Babagsakan tayo nang NUCLEAR BOMB embes na Baboy...
Hirap sa ating government... Takot sa America
Alcala standing firm on AO22 despite US threats
Manila Times
Published : Friday, February 24, 2012 00:00
Article Views : 444
Written by : James Konstantin Galvez Reporter
THE Philippines will not suspend Administrative Order No. 22 (AO22), which effectively calls for the mandatory labeling of imported meat products, despite “warnings” from the United States government that it will block the country’s application for the extension of the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that there have been informal talks with US government officials, who indicated that they will block the Philippines’ application for QR extension if the Department of Agriculture (DA) will not defer the implementation of AO22.
“They have informed us informally. But we will push through with the implementation of the AO while we continue with our application [of the QR] in a normal process,” Alcala said on the sidelines of the Philippine Food Expo on Thursday.
“I will not beg to them. We are talking about the Filipino consumers’ health and the livelihood of rice farmers in the country,” he added.
Last year, the DA chief revealed that a US agricultural attaché have spoken with him, requesting a review or suspension of AO 22.
“They told me that the order would affect them,” Alcala said.
Local meat importers also questioned the validity of AO 22, which covers the rules in the handling of frozen meat—particularly the unwarranted legislative power to the local government units in implementing the handling procedures for chilled meat products.
Should the US file an opposition before the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Philippines’ bid for a three-year extension its QR on rice, which will expire by July 2012, will be jeopardized.
The Philippine government is pushing for the extension of the QR, citing the need to prepare Filipino farmers for international trade and to achieve rice self-sufficiency. An extension of the QR will allow the Philippines to limit the volume of rice that can be imported by the government every year, preventing the influx of cheap rice from other countries.
Earlier, other rice producing countries – particularly China , India and Pakistan – objected to or sought concessions from the Philippines in exchange for endorsing Manila’s request for an extension of the QR.
For the Philippines to get the nod on the extension, rice-producing countries affected by the restriction can request for concessions/market access for the import of certain products—not limited to rice.
During the previous QR extension, Manila had agreed to increase its minimum access volume (MAV) for rice to about 350,000 metric tons, and reduced tariffs to 40 percent from the previous 50 percent.
MAV refers to the minimum volume of farm produce allowed to enter the Philippines at reduced tariffs.
But for the new round of negotiations, one option that Manila may offer is the lowering of the 40 percent tariff on rice imports to about 35 percent, Alcala said.
