The Philippines has bolstered its chances of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States after staying out of the US government’s watch list on counterfeiting and piracy for seven straight years, according to the country’s trade chief.
In a statement last Sunday, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said he is hoping the country’s good standing in the Special 301 Report of the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) will reflect in trade ties with the US. For seven consecutive years, the Philippines stayed out of the USTR watch list in spite of intellectual property (IP) rights protection issues.
At present, the Philippines and the US discuss issues pertaining to trade under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, but the two parties find it imperative to elevate matters to an FTA given the long history of their bilateral relations.
Lopez added that the exclusion from the watch list will boost Manila’s chances of retaining its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status with Washington. The GSP allows for the duty free export of over 5,000 products to the US, and it is scheduled to expire in December.
For the country’s clean record in the USTR watch list, Lopez has the 12-member National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) to thank. The NCIPR, headed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), leads all government efforts
“The strong cooperation within the NCIPR network has made this possible,” Lopez said.
Lopez committed to strengthen the NCIPR’s efforts to sustain the gains of the country in terms of IP rights protection.