Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

971223 Philippines, U.S. Pork Row Unresolved After Talks

December 4, 1997

Manila - A row over the Philippines' import of pork from the United States remains unresolved after recent talks, Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero said on Thursday.

"We're in a situation where they think they are right and where we think we are also right...But by continuously holding dialogues, we are hoping to resolve the issue," Escudero told reporters.

Escudero said talks held last month in Geneva ended in a stalemate but representatives of both countries agreed to pursue further discussions.

The Philippines agreed in 1995 to open its market to pork and poultry imports but U.S. officials say it has failed to live up to its commitment by administering quotas for those products in such a way as to discourage imports.

Escudero has said further demands on the country's pork import guidelines could not be accommodated as they were already revised after the U.S. complained last April.

Escudero said with the agreement to continue talks, the U.S. had shelved earlier plans to file a case against the Philippines with the World Trade Organisation.

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Iotron Technology Inc.

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