Buenos Aires, Argentina – Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and I, as Secretary of Agriculture, will lead the Philippine team which will engage with other trading countries in the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization which starts today.
Secretary Lopez is the Head of Delegation (HOD) who will lead the negotiations while I will be the co-HOD to handle issues in agriculture and fisheries.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global international organization which deals with the rules of trade between nations and a total 160 countries are members.
The WTO assists in the forging of agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified by their respective legislative bodies.
While the intention of the WTO is to ensure smooth, predictable and free trade, there are interests which a country will have to protect.
It is in the negotiations where the country would either succeed or fail in getting a better trade deal to ensure that its interests are protected.
The Philippines, in the many WTO Ministerial Conferences, has been consistent with its negotiating objective in the agriculture and fisheries sector and that is to obtain as much additional policy space for our government to protect and support the agriculture sector.
Last night, over dinner of Pizza, Argentinian beef and fish, the Agriculture team, including National Food Authority officials led by Administrator Jason Aquino, held a final briefing before getting into the thick of the negotiations which start today.
On instructions of President Rody Duterte, the Philippine delegation will work hard to get the best deal for our country, especially for our farmers and fisher folks.
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