The Bell Trade Act of 1946, also known as the Philippine Trade Act, was an act passed by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
specifying
policy governing trade between the Philippines and the United States following independence of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
from the United States. The United States Congress offered $800 million for post World War II rebuilding funds if the Bell Trade Act was ratified by the
Philippine Congress
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ter ...
. The specifics of the act required the 1935
Constitution of the Philippines
The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
be amended. The
Philippine Congress
The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ter ...
approved the measure on July 2, two days before independence from the United States of America, and on September 18, 1946 approved a plebiscite to amend the
Constitution of the Philippines
The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
.
Authored by
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
Congressman
C. Jasper Bell, the Bell Trade Act required:
* Preferential
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s on US products imported into the Philippines;
* A 2:1
fixed exchange rate
A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another m ...
between the
Philippine peso
The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ce ...
and the
United States dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
;
* No restrictions on currency transfers from the Philippines to the United States;
* "Parity rights" granting U.S. citizens and corporations rights to Philippine natural resources equal to (in parity with) those of Philippine citizens, contrary to Article XIII in the 1935 Philippine Constitution, necessitating a constitutional amendment.
[.]
The Bell Act, particularly the parity clause, was seen by critics as an inexcusable surrender of national sovereignty.
The pressure of the sugar barons, particularly those of President Roxas's home region of
Western Visayas
Western Visayas ( hil, Kabisay-an Nakatundan; tl, Kanlurang Kabisayaan or ''Kanlurang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimara ...
, and other landowner interests, however, was irresistible.
In 1955, the
Laurel–Langley Agreement
The Laurel–Langley Agreement was a trade agreement signed in 1955 between the United States and its former colony the Philippines. It expired in 1974. It was an amendment to the Bell Trade Act, which gave full parity rights to American citizens ...
revised the Bell Trade Act.
This treaty abolished the United States authority to control the exchange rate of the peso, made parity privileges reciprocal, extended the sugar quota, and extended the time period for the reduction of other quotas and for the progressive application of tariffs on Philippine goods exported to the United States.
1947 Philippine Parity Rights plebiscite
As required by the Bell Trade Act, a plebiscite was held in the Philippines to amend the Philippine Constitution to provide for "parity rights" between American and Philippine citizens.
Prior to the plebiscite, the Constitutional amendment had to be approved by the Philippine Congress, which required a 3/4 vote by the
Philippine House and
Philippine Senate
The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress of the bicameral legislature of the ...
.
The 3/4 vote was obtained only by the denial of seats in the House to six members of the leftist
Democratic Alliance and three from the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...
on grounds of fraud and violent campaign tactics during the
April 1946 election.
The administration view that the amendment had passed was challenged before the
Philippine Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
on the grounds that approval by 3/4 of the full membership was required, not 3/4 of the sitting members, and was decided in favor of the administration position..
[ (p. 515)]
The plebiscite was held on March 11, 1947 and voters approved the amendment 79% to 21%. Forty percent of voters participated in the plebiscite.
See also
*
Politics of the Philippines
The politics of the Philippines take place within a three-branch governmental system. The country is a democracy, led by a directly elected president who serves as both the head of state and the head of government. The president heads the execu ...
*
Philippine elections
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
References
Further reading
*.
*.
External links
* The act by the Philippine Congress acceding to the provisions of the Bell Trade Act.
{{Philippine elections
1946 in law
Philippines–United States relations
Economic history of the Philippines
Neocolonialism
United States federal trade legislation
Tax reform referendums
1947 in the Philippines
1947 referendums
Presidency of Manuel Roxas