Jihan Mae D.

Rivera August 14, 2019

Prof. Jesson Rey Sabado CBM 321 - 0702

INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Imports Regulations for Processed Food Products

Philippines food regulations generally follow the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration policies and guidelines for food additives, good manufacturing
practices, and suitability of packaging materials for food use. Hence, compliance
with U.S. regulations for packaged foods, particularly for labelling, will almost
always assure compliance with Philippine regulations. All food products offered for
sale in the Philippines must be registered with the Philippine Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Registration of imported products may only be undertaken
by a Philippine entity, although some documentation and, for certain types of
products, samples need to be provided by the exporter.

STAND – This import regulation for processed food products, for me it is

effective and efficient because the foods are not processed in the Philippines so it
should be registered in the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the
safety of the Filipino people and also to protect the domestic processed food from
foreign countries are not suitable for the people.

2. Import Regulations for Plant Products

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) regulates imports of all plant products,
including live plants, and fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. All imported
plant products and planting materials, including highly processed plant products
require Phytosanitary Quarantine Clearances (PQC) from BPI, which also serve as
import licenses. These permits are applied for by an accredited Philippine importer
for each shipment and must be secured for all imports before the shipment leaves
the country of origin.

STAND - This barrier is good and substantiated because before the Plant
Products will be shipped to the Philippines, it should comply the Phytosanitary
Quarantine Clearances (PQC) from Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to secure the
product. This also serves as protection for the products to be shipped in the
Philippines especially to the highly processed plant products.

3. Retail Trade Liberalization Act

The Retail Trade Liberalization Act is a law that intends to promote both
Filipino and foreign investors to forge efficient and competitive retail trade in the
interest of empowering the Filipino consumer through lower prices, higher quality
goods, better services and wider choices. Retail Trade is the act, occupation or
calling of habitually selling direct to the general public merchandise, commodities or
goods for consumption.

STAND – This act is very helpful for the Philippines because it increases the
investments of foreign entities in the Philippines. By this act it gives a lot of
opportunities to the Filipino people to get jobs, promote tourism, assist small
manufacturers, stimulate economic growth, and it enable Philippine goods and
services to become globally competitive through the liberalization of the retail-trade
sector.

4. Rice Tariffication Law

The Philippine rice sector has always been the center of government
agricultural policies. The focal points of the policies revolve around promoting food
self-sufficiency, providing high income to rice farmers while making prices
affordable to the consuming public. The accession to WTO provided for the revision
of the quantitative restrictions (QRs) and reduces tariff protection. Rice was
exempted from tariffication. The Qr regime mandate for conversion into tariff
protection from 2005-2012 and a waiver to maintain QR up to June 30, 2017. The
Philippines’ membership to the WTO for 24 years aimed to counter the impact of the
expected influx of cheap rice imports. The Rice Tariffication Law signed into law by
President Rodrigo Duterte on February 14, 2019 amends the Agricultural
Tarification act of 1996 that imposed tariff to agricultural imports except for rice.
The law was prompted because of the surging inflation of rice price during the last
quarter of 2018 after the rice stocks of NFA ran out. As Filipinos continue to struggle
with inflation, the government found ways to temper rising inflation.
 STAND – Rice Tariffication Law is beneficial to the consumer because it
provides affordable price for our consumption which the rice and especially, the law
is favorable to the farmers because it is a good way of providing them a higher
income which is the farmers truly deserve. This law also protect the Filipinos not to
struggle with inflation of rice.

5. Import Regulations for Meat and Poultry Products

In 2005, the Department of Agriculture issued Administrative Order No. 26

(AO 26), which updated its Administrative Order No. 39 (2000) or the “Revised
Rules, Regulations and Standards Governing the Importation of Meat and Meat
Products into the Philippines.” AO 26 reiterates the need for a DA-accredited
importer to obtain a Veterinary Quarantine Clearance (VQC) certificate prior to the
importation of meat and meat products. A VQC is non-transferrable and can only be
used by the consignee to whom it was issued. A one shipment/bill-of-lading per VQC
issued policy is strictly followed.

STAND - This is a great deal of sensitivity in the Philippines to U.S. food

products that are packed in cartons with labels indicating shipment to another
country. But the Philippines don’t require any labels to the cartons for export to the
Philippines. This regulation protects the products and monitored if it was safe to be
shipped in the Philippines, and if there is no harm in the product that will cause
harm to the people.