The business sector has expressed support to the proposal seeking to impose tariffs on rice imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions, the Department of Finance said over the weekend.
DoF Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino II said business organizations forwarded a copy of their joint statement expressing their support for the rice tariffication bill to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III last month.
“Consumers must be freed from food supply apprehension and provided with price stability at an affordable level. This measure will address those concerns through free and open competition,” they said in the joint statement.
The statement was signed by the Management Association of the Philippines, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Judicial Reform Initiative, Makati Business Club, Philippine Investment Funds Association and the Semiconductor and Electronic Industries in the Philippines Inc.