Rice Tariffication Law: Good or bad?

“It is the height of foolishness to do things over and over again and expect a different result.” – Albert Einstein

After the country’s membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994, the most significant change in our agricultural policy landscape is the passage of Republic Act 11203, or the “Rice Tariffication Law” (RTL), in February 2019. The RTL removed the quantitative restriction (QR) or import ban on rice, and in the process, lifted the sole authority of the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice. It allowed private traders to import rice provided that they pay the corresponding tariffs (taxes) for the imported stocks.