BRIGHT PROSPECTS Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual talks about the latest developments in the investment scene during a roundtable discussion with the Inquirer business section at the Inquirer office in Makati City. —EUGENE ARANETA
MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is looking to enter into free trade agreements (FTAs) with some African nations, setting its sights on three prospective candidates to partner with as part of the government’s efforts to expand the country’s bilateral trade networks beyond Asia and Europe.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said these prospects include South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, which he said are countries that are mostly ahead in terms of economic development in the world’s second largest and second-most populous continent.
“We will conduct a study to see if there is complementarity,” Pascual said in a roundtable discussion with the Inquirer on Tuesday night.
The trade chief said the Philippines is trying to catch up with its Asian peers, which have managed to grow the number of countries with whom they have FTAs.
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“Vietnam already has 26 FTAs. So, we need to catch up,” said Pascual.
Lagging behind Asean peers
According to international market research firm Statista, the three African countries import tens of billions of dollars’ worth of goods each year, indicating the size of the potential market that the Philippines can capitalize on.
In 2022, South Africa imported around $85 million worth of goods, while Nigeria and Kenya had $60.35 billion and $21.7 billion worth of imports, respectively, during the same year.
Today, the Philippines has signed three bilateral FTAs, which are the Philippines-South Korea FTA signed in 2023, the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA) in 2006 and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 2016.
READ: PH signs free-trade deal with South Korea
The Philippines is also in the negotiation phase for a free trade with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with expectations that it will be completed within two years after the formal discussions begin this year.
The Philippines also begun scoping discussions for an FTA with the European Union (EU) last year, with the formal negotiations set to be announced sometime this year.