Philippine tariff and customs law has evolved in several stages. In 1995, the Philippines became a party to the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, and joined the World Trade Organization. Under the Uruguay Round, developed states reduced tariffs by 33 percent on the average. For their part, developing states like the Philippines promised not to raise tariffs beyond a certain ceiling rate. They also removed quantitative import restrictions and converted them to tariff equivalents. This step resulted in the tariffication of agricultural products.
Tariff and Customs Code Annotated
