PHL to Thailand: Follow WTO ruling in cigarette dispute

The Philippines has been patient longer than reasonable, the country’s new Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Esteban B. Conejos, Jr. said in his first official statement at the WTO-Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting on August 31. The Ambassador was referring to the dispute between the Philippines and Thailand regarding the latter’s continuing failure to comply with the WTO’s ruling that it correct its taxation scheme for Philippine-made cigarettes. Conejos noted the importance of the following weeks in determining what action the government will take and emphasized the need to resolve existing issues through bilateral levels. “Whether that dialogue has been fruitful will become clear in the coming weeks, when we assess whether Thailand has followed through on specific actions committed for specific timeframes agreed during our bilateral discussions,” he said in a statement. Conejos noted that Philippines has been patient and has exercised restraint well beyond the end of the reasonable period of time given to Thailand to implement the DSB ruling Unresolved issues Conejos said that while the Philippine government recognizes Thailand’s steps towards compliance, there are also a number of unresolved issues.  “I have been instructed by my capital to communicate, in clear and concise terms, that our patience and restraint will end should the milestones addressed in our bilateral discussions pass without resolving the outstanding issues,” the statement read.   “While the Philippines reserves fully all of its rights, we stand ready, between now and then, to do anything we can to assist Thailand in achieving full compliance,” Cornejos noted. The dispute started on February 7, 2008 after the Philippine government complained to the WTO about Thailand’s customs and tax measures, which they said were in violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994. According to the WTO, the Philippines claimed that Thailand was administering these measures, including customs valuation practices, excise tax, health tax, TV tax, VAT regime, retail licensing requirements and import guarantees, in "a partial and unreasonable manner." — BM, GMA News