THE PHILIPPINES is urged to move forward with existing negotiations for free trade deals and prepare to join more ambitious agreements, such as the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), that would provide “huge opportunities” for growth for Philippine exports and local industries.
According to foreign business groups, being part of bigger trade deals will also help significantly improve the overall investment climate in the country, open up further the economy and boost its competitiveness.
“The Philippines should move ahead in ongoing negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the European Free Trade Association (Efta), negotiate and conclude a European Union-Philippine free trade agreement, and prepare to join the TPP, which is likely to go into effect in 2017,” John D. Forbes, senior adviser at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham), said in an e-mail to the Inquirer.
“Existing and new agreements provide huge opportunities for Philippine exports. The government can support domestic companies and attract more foreign investors to participate in global supply chains by improving competitiveness with improved infrastructure, reduced red tape, workforce skill enhancement and sound labor practices. The EU FTA and TPP will encourage domestic economic reforms and support higher economic growth,” Forbes said.
Separately, Bodo Goerlich, president of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (GPCCI), noted that FTAs had always served as “instruments to help the national economy to grow.”
“The young, growing and English-speaking workforce of the Philippines is a particular advantage with regards to economic integration. However, economic integration demands competitiveness of products in price and quality. To this end, the Philippines has to open its markets, allow more competition domestically, and support small and medium enterprises to grow and expand nationally and internationally,” Goerlich stressed.
For Henry J. Schumacher, vice president for external affairs at the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (ECCP), the Philippines has no choice but to enter into these agreements because otherwise, “access to new markets will become more complicated, making the Philippines less competitive.”
The Asean Economic Community, he added, offered opportunities that had to be taken seriously amid challenges that might be faced by some of the country’s key industries, such as agriculture.
The Philippines is currently negotiating for an FTA with Efta member states, and is poised to start the same discussions with the EU this year. Through the Asean, the Philippines is also part of the negotiations for RCEP, which is expected to be completed in 2016.
The Philippines has so far signed seven free trade agreements, only one of which was a bilateral, while the remaining six are through the Asean. These are the Asean FTA; Asean-China FTA; Asean-Korea FTA; Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA; Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) and the Asean-India FTA.