Philippines’ Marcos rejects proposal to lower rice tariffs

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday rejected a proposal to reduce tariffs on imported rice as world prices of the grain are expected to go down, his office said in a statement.

The decision followed a meeting on Tuesday among the country’s economic and agriculture officials, including Marcos who is also the agriculture secretary.

The finance and economic planning departments earlier proposed a tariff reduction to between zero and 10%, from the current 35%, for rice imports as the government seeks to ease pressure on inflation.