Salceda stands ground on tariff reduction

Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said on Saturday that he stood firm in pushing for “zero tariff” on imported food products as an anti-inflation measure.

Salceda was reacting to the rejection of his proposal by President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers because it would hurt local producers.

“It matters little if we reduce tariff from 40 percent to 5 percent versus 40 percent to zero percent for as long as it increases supply,” Salceda said.

The July inflation rate of 5.7 percent was driven by a 7.1-percent increase in food costs, said Salceda, one of the country’s leading economists.

“Since food is bigger in the consumption basket of the poor, it is safe to say that the inflation of the poor in July increased to a worrisome 7.4 percent,” Salceda said. —Mar S. Arguelles