MODULE IN TARIFF 335A

• This module shall cover the international trade organizations wherein the Philippines is a member and a signatory
• Course Outcomes

  Articulate the basic principles of the international trade organization where the Philippines is a signatory
• World Trade Organization (WTO)

  An organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. Officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. Deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.
• The WTO has 153 members, representing more than 97% of the world's population, and 30 observers, most seeking membership
• The WTO is governed by a ministerial conference, meeting every two years; a general council, which implements the conference's policy decisions and is responsible for day-to-day administration; and a director-general, who is appointed by the ministerial conference
• The WTO's headquarters is at the Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland
• Objectives of WTO

  • To implement the new world trade system as visualised in the Agreement
  • To promote World Trade in a manner that benefits every country
  • To ensure that developing countries secure a better balance in the sharing of the advantages resulting from the expansion of international trade corresponding to their developmental needs
  • To demolish all hurdles to an open world trading system and usher in international economic renaissance because the world trade is an effective instrument to foster economic growth
  • To enhance competitiveness among all trading partners so as to benefit consumers and help in global integration
  • To increase the level of production and productivity with a view to ensuring level of employment in the world
  • To expand and utilize world resources to the best
  • To improve the level of living for the global population and speed up economic development of the member nations
• Structure of the WTO

  • Ministerial conferences
  • General Council
• Fundamental Principles of WTO

  • Trade without discrimination
  • Protection only through tariff
  • A stable basis for trade
  • Consultation
  • Quantitative restrictions
  • Regional trading arrangements
  • Waiver and possible emergency action
• Uruguay Round (UR) of GATT

  The 8th Round of multilateral trade negotiations sponsored by GATT. Results of the Uruguay Round are considered a single undertaking where all 120 contracting parties and observers need to universally accede to 30 agreements and 22 ministerial decisions that make up the Final Act
• Key Result Areas of UR

  • Market Access
  • Rules and Disciplines
  • Institutional topics such as dispute settlement and ways by which to improve the conduct of multilateral trading system
• GATT-sanctioned trade measures that can be applied against unfair trade practices

  • Anti-dumping measures
  • Countervailing measures
  • Safeguard measures
  • Balanced of Payment Measures
  • Renegotiations of tariff concessions
• WTO-related legislations passed by Congress and signed by the President to implement the Philippine Commitments under Uruguay Round

  • RA 8181-AMENDED BY R.A 9135
  • R.A 8178
  • Executive Order No. 313
  • R.A 8751
  • R.A 8752
  • R.A 8800
• Benefits/Implications of Philippine Membership to WTO

  • Non-discrimination
  • Stable and assured access to market
  • Consultations and Complains
  • Forum for Multilateral Discussions
• Major Accomplishments of WTO Ministerial Meetings

  • 1st WTO Ministerial Conference (Singapore, 1996)
  • 2nd WTO Ministerial Conference (Geneva, 1998)
  • 3rd WTO Ministerial Conference (Seattle, 1999)
  • 4th WTO Ministerial Conference (Doha, 2001)
  • 5th WTO Ministerial Conference (Cancun, 2003)
  • 6th WTO Ministerial Conference (Hongkong, 2005)
  • 7th WTO Ministerial Conference (Geneva, 2009)
  • 8th WTO Ministerial Conference (Geneva, 2011)
  • 9th WTO Ministerial Conference (Bali, 2013)
  • 10th WTO Ministerial Conference (Nairobi, 2015)
  • 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (Buenos Aires, 2017)
  • 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (Geneva, 2022)
  • 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (Abu Dhabi, 2024)
• The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) took place from 12 to 17 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva
• The WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) took place from 26 February to 2 March 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• World Customs Organization (WCO)

  An intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community
• This module shall cover the international trade organizations wherein the Philippines is a member and a signatory
• WCO

  • It is particularly noted for its work in areas covering the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics such as commodity classification, valuation, rules of origin, collection of customs revenue, supply chain security, international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), integrity promotion, and delivering sustainable capacity building to assist with customs reforms and modernization
• The WCO maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature, and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin
• Course Outcomes

  Articulate the basic principles of the international trade organization where the Philippines is a signatory
• Customs Co-operation Council (CCC)

  The original name of the World Customs Organization, established in 1952
• This module will provide discussions on the meaning, creation, memberships, objectives, functions, principles, organizational structure and the Operational aspect, trade promotions, trade related measures, and legislative issuances of the Philippine Commitments to the several international trade organizations
• WCO

  • Its mission is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations
• The WCO represents 186 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade
• This module will provide discussions on the Philippine benefits of its membership to these organizations