MALACAÑANG

Manila

LETTER OF INSTRUCTION NO. 558

TO:
The Chairman-President, Philippine Export Council

The Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

The Secretary, Department of Trade

The Chairman, Board of Investments

The Secretary, Department of Industry

The Director-General, National Economic and Development Authority

The Secretary, Department of Finance

The Governor, Central Bank of the Philippines

The Commissioner, Bureau of Customs

The Chairman, Tariff Commission

The Director, National Census and Statistics Office

The Chairman, Textile Export Board

The Chairman, Embroidery and Apparel Control and Inspection Board

WHEREAS, an increasing number of countries seek to impose restraint levels on Philippine exports of textiles and garments under the Arrangement regarding International Trade in Textiles, also known as the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA), giving rise to the need to establish a responsive mechanism for negotiations that will require closer coordination among and between the various government agencies and the private sector organizations involved in the trade and production of textiles and apparel in order to obtain maximum benefits and advantages out of textile negotiations with other countries;

WHEREAS, the Philippines must formulate better terms of agreement based on reliable information and statistics which call for continuing technical support that will gather, analyze and evaluate all relevant information and statistics for negotiating panels;

WHEREAS, there is need to expand the functions of the Textile Export Board to enable it to implement all textile agreements between the Philippines and other countries;

WHEREAS, the Textile Export Board and the Bureau of Customs presently have important roles in the flow of textiles and garments exports and therefore need to establish an information link between them to generate relevant information needed for monitoring purposes;

NOW, THEREFORE, to achieve these ends, it is hereby directed:

1. The Sub-Committee on International Trade in Textiles (SITT) of the NEDA Permanent Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Trade, Tariff and Other Related Matters (TTRM), in addition to the functions vested upon it by competent authority, shall provide the continuing technical support to the negotiating panels. The Sub-Committee shall include the following in its membership:

(1) Department of Foreign Affairs

(2) Philippine Export Council

(3) Department of Trade

(4) Board of Investments

(5) Department of Industry

(6) National Economic and Development Authority

(7) Department of Finance

(8) Central Bank of the Philippines

(9) Tariff Commission

(10) National Census and Statistics Office

(11) Textile Export Board

(12) Embroidery and Apparel Control and Inspection Board

In addition to its terms of reference, the Sub-Committee shall:

i) study, evaluate, formulate and recommend to the Philippine negotiators, national positions for multilateral/bilateral negotiations or consultations relating to textiles and garments;

ii) assess the effectiveness of existing provisions of the Multi-Fibre Agreement in improving market expansion of Philippine textile exports;

iii) monitor all pertinent developments relating to the Multi-Fibre Agreement;

iv) backstop negotiating panels in negotiations or consultations;

v) establish implementation guidelines for all agreements entered into between the Philippines and other countries, taking into account the export strategies and policies on textiles and garments adopted by the Philippine Export Council.

The Department of Trade shall establish a secretariat to support the Sub-Committee.

2. The Department of Trade and the Department of Foreign Affairs shall jointly organize ad-hoc negotiating panels for particular textile and garments negotiations composed of representatives from both the government and the private sectors.

The government sector membership shall be drawn from the agencies that compose the Sub-Committee on International Trade in Textiles of the NEDA TTRM. The private sector membership shall be composed of a representative from each of the four private sector associations whose members may be directly affected by the subject matter and results of the negotiations, namely:

(1)  Garment Business Association of the Philippines

(2)  Philippine Association of Embroidery and Apparel Exporters

(3)  The Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers

(4)  Textile Manufacturers Association of the Philippines

The Chairman of the Permanent Committee on Textiles and Garments of the Philippine Export Council, aside from representing his association in the panel, shall in every case be a member and designated vice-chairman of every negotiating panel.

In addition, any individual, corporation or association who may be affected by the subject matter and results of a particular negotiation may send at his or its expense, a representative to participate at such negotiation in the capacity of an adviser, subject to the approval of the chairman of the negotiating panel.

The negotiating panel shall be co-chaired by the representatives of the Department of Trade and the Department of Foreign Affairs, or under special circumstances, by an official from another Department so designated by the Department of Trade or the Department of Foreign Affairs, of a rank not lower than an Undersecretary or Ambassador, respectively. Membership in the panel, whether from government or the private sector, shall be limited to senior level officials.

3. The duties and functions of the Textile Export Board under the Letter of Instruction No. 325 are hereby expanded to include the implementation of garments and textiles agreements between the Republic of the Philippines and other countries.

4. The Bureau of Customs is hereby directed that prior to processing any textile or garment export documents, the proper written endorsement from the Textile Export Board shall first be obtained.

5. The Textile Export Board shall be subject to government auditing rules and regulations for funds that may be contributed or provided by the government.

Immediate compliance of this Order is hereby enjoined.

Done in the City of Manila, this 17th day of June in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.

(SGD.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

Source: CDAsia