The Philippines should exercise increased vigilance over illegal trade measures imposed by other countries to ensure that the country’s exports are amply protected, said Philippines Permanent Representative to the WTO Ambassador Manuel A.J. Teehankee.

Teehankee said this in light of the various protective measures that have been resorted to or maybe resorted to by trading countries as an offshoot of the global financial crisis.

“We should remove illegal measures that are violative of WTO (World Trade Organization) rules, so we need to increase vigilance to ensure exports and domestic industries are properly protected,” Teehankee said.

Teehankee cited the Philippines pending cases in the WTO on excise taxation on distilled spirits against Europe and the US, the cigarette tax dispute versus Thailand and the ITA tariff issue of EU versus the US, Japan and Chinese Taipei in which the Philippines has a systemic interest.

He also cited the case of the US-China trade row on Chinese tires.

According to Teehankee, the reason for all these disputes not just against the Philippines but other countries is largely economic in nature.

“The same reason they sue us for distilled spirits is due to crisis because international brands sales have dipped in our country,” Teehankee said.

That is why, he said, the presence of the WTO is still very relevant in settling trade disputes of member countries.

“The WTO remains relevant in that it is the only multilateral trading body that can resolve trade disputes because it is a treaty and is rules-based so it can enforce,” Teehankee said.

“But, there are protective measures that are not violative of the WTO rules,” he added noting that even for preferential or plurilateral agreements should be WTO-consistent also.

He said the WTO Ministerial Conference on Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 late this month is already long overdue because the last ministerial was still in 2005 and the WTO charter provides for the holding of the ministerial every two years.

“The upcoming ministerial in Geneva will provide an opportunity for ministers to take stock of issues. The Philippines will continue to join other developing countries in stressing importance on trade liberalization in the context of development incentives to lease developed countries to be able to catch up and improve the livelihood of citizens,” Teehankee said.

The 7th WTO Ministerial, however, would be a departure from the past conferences that used to hold discussions in green rooms and were mostly exclusive to small group discussions and informal negotiating structures mostly composed of major economic players.

This time, the conference could be based on could be based on three guiding principles termed “FIT” for Full participation, Inclusiveness, and Transparency, and that for this reason, it should be centered around plenary sessions in which all Ministers may participate equally.

As a result, this year’s ministerial is not intended as a negotiating session, but rather a regular gathering of Ministers to engage in a broader evaluation of the functioning of the multilateral trading system.