This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 44, December
11-17, 2005
Ibon: RP Industry, Fisheries
Endangered More IBON,
a member of the local anti-WTO network Resist WTO! and the global coalition
Our World Is Not For Sale , challenges the country's negotiators at the WTO
ministerial to resist the further extension of trade liberalization into
manufactured goods and fisheries and instead focus on finding meaningful ways to
develop the country's manufacturing sector. BY
BULATLAT Acceding to a proposal in
the World Trade Organization (WTO) for greater market access for
non-agricultural goods would only worsen the crisis of the local industrial
sector, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. © 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
under Non-Agri WTO Trade Talks
Non-agricultural market access (NAMA) is an agreement for the binding and
reduction of tariffs not just on manufactured products but also on commodities
such as fish and fishery products (which are not under the scope of the
Agreement on Agriculture). The NAMA is one of the items on the agenda of the WTO
6th Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong this December 13-18.
NAMA, coupled with other WTO agreements such as the General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS), Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) and Trade-Related
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), would worsen the by now epidemic exposure
of the local economy to an onslaught of foreign manufactured imports and
capital.
The Philippine manufacturing sector is already characterized by foreign
domination of local industries; dependence on imported production inputs,
leading to weak backward linkages; predominantly small and medium enterprises
engaged in subcontracted small-scale production of light manufactures for export
rather than for domestic consumption; vulnerability to global slowdowns,
particularly those of the US, which is the country's top trade partner; and a
low level of technology.
Opening the local economy further to an influx of imported manufactured goods
under a NAMA agreement would only exacerbate this already dire situation and
lead to further destruction of domestic industry. The share of manufacturing to
gross domestic product has already fallen from 28 percent in 1976 to 24 percent
in 2004.
Many Filipino small and medium-scale entrepreneurs are also expressing their
concern over the harsh impact of trade and investment liberalization, which
would benefit primarily the giant foreign corporations who have access to
greater resources as well as market information and advanced technology. As of
2004, 60% of the manufacturing firms among the country's top 1,000 are
foreign-owned transnational corporations (TNCs), which account for 73% of total
gross revenues. More alarmingly, TNCs' dominance is more felt in the heavy
manufacturing sector, which makes up the backbone of an industrialized national
economy.
Just as bad would be the effect of NAMA on the country's small municipal
fishermen, who fish for subsistence and for sale in local markets. The current
export orientation of the fisheries sector would be exacerbated by NAMA and
decimate the livelihood of small-scale fisherfolks in favor of commercial
fisheries and export-oriented aquaculture. The share of municipal fisheries to
total volume of fish production has fallen from 67% in 1950 to 29% in 2004,
while the share of commercial fisheries has grown from 22% to 31% over the same
period and that of aquaculture, from 12% to 40 percent.
IBON, a member of the local anti-WTO network Resist WTO! and the global
coalition Our World Is Not For Sale , challenges the country's
negotiators at the WTO ministerial to resist the further extension of trade
liberalization into manufactured goods and fisheries and instead focus on
finding meaningful ways to develop the country's manufacturing sector. Posted
by Bulatlat