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which were found to conform to the PNS requirements, thus complying with the LPG ordinance. The company supplies the entire Bicol and refills around 4,000 cylinders in a day, six days a week.
Much has to be desired however from North point, which has a refilling station at Pasacao, Camarines Sur. The inspection of their establishment in Naga City revealed that North point refills and sells their brand and other LPG brand cylinders most of which are without the required label, dirty and tarnished. The Council warned the owner, Mrs. France E. Almerol and referred the case to the DTI.
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example, a "multilateral" security arrangement can be regional.)
One of the system's overriding purposes is to help trade flow as freely as possible- so long as there are no undesirable side effects. That partly means removing obstacles. It also means ensuring that individuals, companies and governments know what the trade rules are around the world, and giving them the confidence that there will be no sudden changes of policy. In other words, the rules have to be "transparent" and predictable.
Principles of the trading system
The trading system should be…
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without discrimination- a country should not discriminate between its trading partners (they are all, equally, granted 'most-favoured-nation" or MFN status); and it should not discriminate between its own and foreign products, services or nationals ( they are given "national treatment");
freer- with barriers coming down through negotiation;
Predictable- foreign companies, investors and governments should be confident that trade barriers (including tariffs, non-tariff barriers and other measures) should not be raised arbitrarily; more and more tariff rates and market opening commitments are "bound" in the WTO;
more competitive- by discouraging "unfair" practices such as export subsidies and dumping products at below cost to gain market share;
More beneficial for less developed countries- by giving them more time to adjust, greater flexibility, and special priveleges.
Reference:
WTO Publication at www.wto.org
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In the context of this column, when we say Globalization and Trade Liberalization we refer to trading between nations. Globalization, from the word "global", means worldwide or international. Liberalization, which comes from the word "liberal", means relax, open or free up. The only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations is the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The system operated by the WTO is known as the "Multilateral trading system". Most nations- including almost all the main trading nations- are members of the system, including the Philippines. But some are not, so "multilateral" is used to describe the system instead of "global" or "world".
In WTO affairs, "multilateral" also contrasts with actions taken regionally or by other smaller groups of countries. (This is different from the word's use in other areas of international relations where, for
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