Competition Policy

top priority for legislators

The TRADE project, through COP Cielito Habito, began direct coordination with

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. in a meeting held 24 October. Speaker Belmonte

is author of House Bill 1133, now pending at the House Committee on Trade and

Industry chaired by Las Piñas Congressman Mark Villar. The meeting was an initial step

towards the project’s goal of assisting government in meeting Philippine commitments

to the AEC Blueprint which calls on ASEAN members to have a competition policy in

place by 2015. In his discussion with Dr. Habito, Speaker Belmonte affirmed the bill to

be a top priority for him, as he considers it critical to stimulating creative business

activities and promoting a balanced development of the economy. The Speaker agreed

to bring together Congressmen chairing key House Committees for a formal

presentation of the TRADE project to the House leadership on November 5.

Meanwhile, Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, author of the counterpart Senate

Bill 1027 and Chairman of the Senate Trade and Commerce Committee (TCC), is also in working partnership with TRADE, which is assisting the senator’s technical staff in

drafting a Competition Policy bill consistent with international best practices. Meeting

with Dr. Habito on 19 October 2013, Senator Aquino expressed his intention to mark

the bill as one of the top priorities in his legislative agenda.

The Philippine Fair Competition Act of 2013 is designed to protect consumer

(continued on next page)

TRADE-RELATED ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECT OCTOBER 2013

T R A D E This newsletter is made possible by the generous support of the American

People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this newsletter are the sole responsibility of the TRADE Project and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the

United States Government.

Farewell Breakfast

TRADE COP Cielito Habito

poses with US Ambassador

Harry Thomas during a

breakfast for the outgoing

ambassador he ld on

October 2 at the Spiral

room of Sofitel. Ambassador

Thomas assumed his post in

2010.

The partnership between the Bureau of

Customs (BOC) and the TRADE Project

was sealed through a memorandum

order signed by the BOC Commissioner

on October 22. The BOC is the lead

counterpart for the project’s trade

facilitation component which focuses

on customs modernization and the

implementation of the National Single

Window. TRADE aims to help the BOC

formulate executive and administrative

measures to implement the Customs

Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA)

once passed in Congress.

I n t h e m e m o r a n d u m , B O C

Commissioner Ruffy Biazon thanked

TRADE for its technical assistance and

introduced the deputy commissioners

who form the new management team

following the agency’s reorganization.

Biazon said that with the new team, the

BOC would have “new perspective, new

approach and renewed drive” in boosting

the bureau’s performance and fight

against corruption. He also stressed the

need for working with partners like

TRADE towards the implementation of

reform initiatives aimed at trade

facilitation.

An orientation meeting between

TRADE’s key personnel and the new

officials has been set for November 4.

(Photo from Philippine Star)

BOC/TRADE

partnership

set in motion

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce

and Industry (PCCI), in partnership with

the TRADE project, held a training

seminar aimed at cultivating experts in

trade policy formulation and consultation.

This program, called the 5th I-MUST

PLUS (Institutionalization of Multi-

Stakeholder Professional Learning and

Universal Skills for Trade Policy and

Negotiations) was held from October 8-

11 at the BSA Securities Hall, PCCI

Training Center in Taguig City.

TRADE sponsored 20 I-MUST PLUS

trainees, all of whom are members of the

Committee on ASEAN Economic

Community (CAEC), and who benefited

from activities such as trade negotiations

simulation exercises and discussions on

trade and competition policy, the ASEAN

Economic Community, intellectual

property and trade remedies.

In order to encourage the private sector

to be more engaged in trade negotiations,

the 5th I-MUST PLUS focused on topics

such as trade policy and the international

trade framework, as well as the potential

of FTAs to maximize business

opportunities. The curriculum covered

topics such as Case Study on

Competition in the Philippine Shipping

Above: I -MUST PLUS

participants gather for a

group photo at the PCCI

center in Taguig. Left:

TRADE Deputy COP Gareth

Davies gives welcome

remarks dur in g the

seminar’s opening session.

Right and below: Trainees

e n g a g e i n t r a d e

negotiations simulation.

TRADE PROJECT STAFF 3F HERCO Center, 114 Benavidez St., Legazpi Village Makati City 1229

Chief of Party: Dr. Cielito F. Habito • Deputy Chief of Party: Gareth J. Davies • Senior Adviser for Trade Policy: Dr. Ramon Clarete • Trade Policy Specialist: Myrene Bedaño • Component Lead for

Trade Facilitation: Cecilia V. Reyes • Adviser for Trade Facilitation: Edmund C. Guamen • Component Lead for Competition Policy: Gigo Alampay • Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist: Miguel V. Guioguio • Communications Specialist: Kimi Tuvera • Research Assistant: Abigail Dumalus • Director of Operations: Mitos Q. Aldave • Project Accountant: Imelda L. Mallari • Administrative Assistant: Rose Catindoy

2 TRADE / OCTOBER 2013

COMPETITION (cont’d)

welfare. It regulates monopolies and

anti-competitive agreements and

measures in order to advance domestic

and international trade and achieve

sustained economic development. The bill

seeks to create a Philippine Fair Trade

Commission tasked with prosecuting

those engaging in unfair and deceptive

trade practices.

As a related activity, TRADE plans to

TRADE sponsors

training for

CAEC

members

conduct — in collaboration with the

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (PCCI) and other private sector

counterparts — seminar workshops with

partner legislators as official hosts. The

workshops will be designed for the

appropriate offices and committees of both

houses of Congress, with the aim of

increasing the technical expertise and

knowledge of legislators and their key

technical staff to defend and pass the

proposed competition law.

(Photos from Philippine Star and GMA News.)

Industry: Bottlenecks for Global

Competitiveness; Trade Statistics and

their Use for Business; and Introduction

to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

Other key topics included Understanding

the Multilateral trade policy framework:

Market Access in Goods, Trade in

Services; Trade Policy for Export Success;

Understanding Non-Tariff Barriers

(NTBs); and traditional trade policy tools

for business competitiveness including

Trade Remedies and Dispute Settlement

Mechanism.