MANILA, Sept 26: Developing countries may seek individual bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) with rich nations following the failure of the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Cancun, Mexico, Philippine Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas said on Friday.

Members of the G-22 bloc or Group of 22 developing countries would, however, continue their fight to force rich countries led by the United States and the European Union to open up their farm sectors and end domestic subsidies, Roxas said.

While there is cooperation, it “does not preclude the G-22 (members) from undertaking individual or regional arrangements on their own,” Roxas told a Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum.

“There is no country that will uphold the primacy of G-22 interests over their own national interests,” the trade chief said. “So G-22 is a tool, we ally with them, we look forward as best as we can, but we are not (unrealistic).

“We are hard-nosed practitioners of negotiation and the international statecraft that says each country will pursue their own national interests the best way they can,” he said.

G-22 members “will continue to push for the agenda that we espoused, which is a substantial reduction leading to the phaseout of subsidies, discipline imposed on domestic support and substantial market access provided to developing nations.

“(But) as I said, that goes as far as it does. On a broader scale, the G-22 is not the be-all and end-all of negotiations.”

Roxas noted that within the WTO there are already various alliances pushing for other issues such as those dealing with competition and investment policies and tariff reductions.

“This is part of an ongoing process where we sort out difficulties and we engage our trading partners in a continuous dialogue to open up opportunities for ourselves,” Roxas said of FTAs.

“Bilateral or regional FTAs are always a part of a country’s armoury ... for economic development,” he said, noting that Asean, for example as a regional bloc, is negotiating free trade deals with economic powerhouses China and Japan.

The Philippines, however, was not in a hurry to secure a bilateral free trade deal with the United States, which last year offered Southeast Asian countries opportunities to sign FTAs provided they are committed to economic reforms and openness.

Asked if there were any specific arrangements being done to pursue an FTA, Roxas said: “None. At present there are no talks, official or otherwise, with the US in particular.”—AFP