Agri group slams fear mongering on WTO sanctions

The agri-industry alliance Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) scored former agriculture officials and trade experts yesterday for sowing fear of possible retaliatory trade sanctions should the Philippines continue to impose quantitative restrictions (QRs) on rice. SINAG researchers said the Philippines has 22 previous and existing dispute settlement cases at the World Trade Organization, but no sanctions were ever imposed against the country even if it was found in alleged violation of certain WTO commitments. "It is clear that ‘fear mongering’ only serves the interest of smugglers who continue to insist on permit-less importations,” the group stressed in a statement. "If we follow the assumptions of so-called trade experts, there would have been global trade chaos given the number of cases filed by WTO-member complainants against each other. More than the Philippines, trade sanctions and penalties should have long been imposed on the US and EU since both of them - including our major trading partners - have hundreds of dispute cases between them,” SINAG chairperson Rosendo So said. The group issued the statement amidst desperate attempts by smugglers — through trade liberalization advocates — to sow fears of imaginary sanctions should the Philippine government maintain quantitative restrictions on rice imports. "But imposing sanctions is not how the WTO operates. Under WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism, the first option is for disputing countries to settle their concerns among themselves. The operative process is therefore consultations between the governments concerned, and even when the case has progressed to other stages, consultations and mediation remain the principal option,” So stressed.