Joining TPP will be good for Phl, says Goldberg

MANILA, Philippines - Joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would allow the Philippines to consider whether or not it wants to make changes in its economic policies to allow more investments and jobs in the country, US Ambassador Philip Goldberg said.

He said it will be a good idea for the Philippines to be become part of the TPP “so it will not be left behind if all the other countries in the region join this agreement.”

 “We think it’s a good idea for all the countries in the Pacific to think about partnership in the TPP,” Goldberg said during the first “Ask the Ambassador Google Hangout” on Friday.

TPP is an agreement related largely to trade but also other ways of doing business such as environmental standards, labor standards that will try to equalize and try to level the playing field for countries throughout the region to participate in more trade.

 “And the reason we think it’s a good idea for the Philippines is that there are now 12 countries negotiating in the first round initial membership in TPP and should there be an agreement the Philippines wouldn’t want to be left behind in agreement that would allow it to export more to a part of a larger trading,” he added.

The Philippines and the US noted the shared desire to continue discussing the Philippines’ interest in eventually joining TPP trade agreement and will seek to support cooperative activities that promote readiness in key areas, including mutually beneficial legislative measures that may serve as building blocks to the TPP.

Manila and Washington discussed the Philippine interest in the TPP, which the US sees as the most promising pathway to promoting Asia-Pacific economic integration and the best way for countries in the region to encourage economic reform and development, increase regional and global competitiveness, and create jobs.

The TPP is a multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalize the economies of the Asia-Pacific region.