'Buying Filipino' goes against world trade, European chamber says

MANILA, Philippines - A government proposal that would require agencies to patronize locally-made goods would “court disaster," the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) said. Promoting a “Buy Filipino" campaign would be protectionist, ECCP executive vice president Henry Schumacher told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday. The initiative goes against the agreements undertaken between member-economies of the World Trade Organization (WTO), an agency that works to lower, if not eliminate, barriers and restrictions to global trade. “Closing the market does not make sense because an open market improves the financial system," Schumacher said, adding that the Philippines should be open to products made abroad, including those manufactured in Europe. Schumacher, who has been a long-time resident of the Philippines, criticized the campaign being undertaken by the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI). Headed by businessman Jesus Arranza, the FPI recently asked government to formulate a procurement policy that would require agencies to purchase Philippine-made goods. During the same briefing, the ECCP also said that it is not getting the “appropriate response" from Manila regarding a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and Europe. “We will be pleased if there is aggressiveness in the Philippine government to get trade talks," Schumacher said. “We want to see the same kind of interest in the Philippine government as what is shown by Vietnam and Singapore." Once signed by both countries, the proposed FTA will widen the Philippines’ markets for processed food, including fish products such as tuna. The agreement is also expected to make the country’s farming sector to become more competitive. - GMANews.TV