US And Philippines Seek To Prevent Illegal Textile Transhipments

By Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

25 August 2006

US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab on Wednesday met with Philippines Secretary of Trade and Industry Peter Favila to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Cooperate on Stopping Illegal Transshipments of Textiles and Apparel through the Philippines to the United States.

"This MOU will help safeguard and promote legitimate textile trade between our two countries, while stopping illegal textile transshipments," announced Ambassador Schwab.

The MOU provides for customs cooperation, identification of the actual textiles and apparel manufacturers and joint verification visits to provide the two governments with the information necessary to stop textiles and apparel transshipments.

According to the Office of the USTR:

"The conclusion of this important MOU represents the latest achievement in ongoing work under the bilateral US-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which seeks to strengthen the longstanding, close ties between the US and the Philippines and to enhance two-way trade that currently stands at $16 billion and has been growing annually at between seven and eight percent in recent years."

Before signing the MOU, Ambassador Schwab and Secretary Favila also discussed issues on the US–Philippines bilateral trade agenda, including the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), promoting and protect foreign direct investment, and reviving the WTO Doha Round.

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