Global pressure mounts over NFA stance

The Philippine government faces mounting pressure from the international community and local sectors over the National Food Authority’s (NFA) continuing refusal to honor the country’s commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO)—General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

The Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam’s official regulatory body of rice exporters, in its October 22, 2013 letter to Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ruffy Biazon followed up on its “request for comments” on “matters of the expiration of the QR [quantitative restrictions] on rice importation.”