Government urged to exclude sugar from ACAFTA negotiations

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MANILA, Philippines — Industry groups have urged the government to exclude sugar from the ongoing negotiations for a prospective free trade agreement (FTA) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada.

The Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (CONFED) and the Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) filed before the Tariff Commission (TC) their initial position to exclude sugar from the negotiations that would involve the possibility of tariff reduction or even elimination.

The TC held a public consultation last Wednesday regarding the participation of the country on the ASEAN-Canada FTA (ACAFTA) negotiations.

Rosemarie Gumera, a former ranking Sugar Regulatory Administration official and representative of the CONFED, said it is okay to exclude sugar since both the Philippines and Canada do not have any interests on the commodity, particularly regarding market access.

Likewise, PSMA executive director Jesus Barrera said excluding sugar from the ACAFTA negotiations would be “neutral” since there is no ongoing sugar trade between the Philippines and Canada.

Excluding sugar from the trade negotiations will also mean that the country will be able to keep its tariff rate on the commodity at as high as 65 percent. At present, the government slaps a tariff on sugar imports of 50 percent for volume within the minimum access volume and 65 percent for those outside the MAV.

Nevertheless, the country imposes only a five percent tariff on sugar imports coming from ASEAN member-countries. However, sugar importation in the country is regulated by the SRA, with imports only being allowed to enter the country after the government agency approves and opens an importation program for a given time period.

Raul Montemayor of the Federation of Free Farmers told the TC and government officials, led by the Department of Trade Industry, during the consultation that the agriculture sector must not be sacrificed again in order for the country’s non-agriculture exports to gain better market access to Canada.

Montemayor pointed out that other ASEAN member-countries may also benefit from the tariff elimination that the Philippines will seek from Canada since the negotiations are for a regional FTA and not a bilateral one.

“We have to take a look also at the capacity of our players to supply and meet the quality standards of an importing country. There are many cases wherein they cannot comply with the quarantine rules and other non-tariff measures,” Montemayor said.

“(The FTA) ends up as an empty victory. We keep on negotiating and giving concessions in exchange for concessions but in the end we cannot supply the products needed, thus wasting our efforts,” he said.