Philippine President Gloria Arroyo criticized powerful nations yesterday that wield protectionist trade policies, saying they breed disillusionment and poverty in developing countries.
"We find it tragic that developed countries still persist in maintaining protectionist barriers to trade," Arroyo told the annual general meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, a forum of political and corporate leaders from the Pacific Rim.
She did not name specific countries, but the US has recently drawn global ire for raising tariffs on steel, and Washington, the EU and other wealthy countries have long been criticized by developing countries for protecting textiles and agriculture, sectors where poor countries have a comparative advantage.
Arroyo said that these barriers had undermined the ability of governments in developing nations to mobilize support for trade policy reforms -- something rich countries have demanded.
"How can we reform our trade policies when our citizens feel that the developed countries have not yet reformed their trade policies sufficiently to receive our goods more easily?" Arroyo asked. "All this erodes faith in the system and aggravates poverty."
The international community should not allow tariffs to escalate against poor nations and should reduce "burdensome requirements" for their products to enter developed markets, Arroyo said.
Philippine mangoes and bananas have had to undergo "onerous and expensive" certification requirements before being allowed into some countries, Arroyo said.
"Sad to say, while everybody is looking at reducing tariff barriers, sanitary requirements and technical standards seem to be now the welcome choice of protectionists," she said.
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