OVER two months since the world’s biggest trade pact entered into force, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) remains hopeful that the Philippines will soon finish its ratification process to reap the benefits of the regional economic deal.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, at a virtual event on Thursday, said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement “remains to be a top priority of the Philippine government as it is an important tool to sustain economic growth and attract investments in the country.”
“The DTI is working to complete the domestic ratification process for the RCEP Agreement as soon as possible,” he said.
“While there are some expected delays due to the upcoming national elections and the schedule of the Senate, the DTI is optimistic that the Philippines will be able to join RCEP soon,” he added.
RCEP is a free trade agreement among Asean countries and their trading partners including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. This represents 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) or $26.2 trillion.
It entered into force on January 1, 2022.
The Trade department has been lobbying for the ratification of RCEP as it is seen to “help restore business confidence and encourage more economic activities, particularly for MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises], investors, service providers, and professionals.”
This is a call backed by local and foreign business groups, as the trade pact is expected to help the economy recover from the pandemic.
“As business associations representing major industrialized economies, we are concerned the Philippines export industry that has been severely hit by the pandemic, will miss out unless this free trade agreement is approved by the Senate,” Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines President Julian Payne said earlier, warning that non-participation puts the country at a disadvantage compared with other RCEP signatories.
The local garment industry, through the Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines (Conwep) and its affiliate the Coalition of the Philippine Manufacturers of PPE (CPMP), also called for the Senate’s concurrence with RCEP to allow them to source raw materials such as yarn and fabric from foreign markets.
“Otherwise, we again lose these orders, as well as significant planned investments on apparel and textile from countries such as China, Taiwan, and others, to Vietnam which is expected to resume its operations in the next couple of months,” they added.
However, the agriculture sector has some reservations over RCEP’s ratification.
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said last month the country’s participation to the RCEP should be decided by the next set of legislators in the hope of having an administration that is “more sympathetic” to the sector’s concerns.
“It will be only fair and proper to let the senators of the incoming 19th Congress study and deliberate on a critical matter like RCEP. Hopefully, the next administration—particularly the new leadership in the DA —will also be more sympathetic and receptive to the concerns of small farmers and the agriculture sector as a whole,” FFF National Manager Raul Montemayor said previously.