MANILA, Philippines – The Tariff Commission has urged commercial fruits and vegetable farmers to submit their position papers on April 29 to save their business from systematic import tariff cuts beginning next year.

The exemption will be rice and sugar, the two basic goods which Philippine negotiators kept protected through either exclusion from tariff cuts or classification as highly sensitive products.

Tariff Commission Chairman Edgardo Abon made the warning at the end of a public hearing on the tariff reduction obligations of the Philippines under trade pacts it had signed with China and South Korea.

Under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)-China (ACFTA) and AFTA-South Korea (AKFTA) agreements, tariff protection for the sensitive list that include farm products, plus competing products to and raw materials for the few surviving local industries, will be down to no more than 20 percent by January 2012.

Presented to participants was the complete list of farm, fishery and industrial goods classified in those agreements as falling under the sensitive list that will be affected by the tariff cuts.

Aside from farm and fish products, affected for good or for worse will be the country’s automotive industry, home appliance makers, and makers of plastic products.

By the year 2018 for China and 2016 for Korea, import duties will be down to between zero and five percent. By this time, goods traded among ASEAN countries would have been fully liberalized as well.

The scenario opens a fierce trade regime of free-for-all in Asia, where the fittest are expected to prevail.