Philippines to push for free trade deal with US

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will actively push for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States as it expects the administration of President Donald Trump to remain open to such a deal, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“The Philippines will push really hard for a bilateral FTA with the US,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters on the sidelines of a European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) press event on Thursday.

He said the Philippines wants to take advantage of the interest the US has shown in an FTA with the Philippines during Trump’s first term as US president.

“Looking at the track record of Trump and his announcements in the confirmation hearings, we’d really like to take advantage of this to convert this into actual policy initiatives that would move forward the Philippines-US bilateral FTA,” Rodolfo said, noting that the DTI expects Trump 2.0 to have a net positive impact on Philippine-US economic relations.

During his speech at the ECCP event, Rodolfo said Trump was the only recent US president that welcomed a bilateral FTA with the Philippines.

During Trump’s visit to the Philippines in 2017, a joint statement was issued, with the US welcoming the Philippines’ interest in a bilateral FTA.

In contrast, Rodolfo said the previous administration of the US had a cautious approach in its treatment of the Philippines’ interest for a bilateral FTA.

Rodolfo also expects key officials in Trump’s administration, including his pick for US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to have a net positive impact on US-Philippines’ relations.

Greer served as chief of staff to former US trade representative Bob Lighthizer, who said in 2018 that the US was considering an FTA with the Philippines.

“I think they (US) would maintain the same welcoming attitude for a bilateral FTA with the Philippines,” Rodolfo said.

As the Philippines pushes for a bilateral FTA with the US, Rodolfo is hopeful this would hasten concluding the negotiations of the Philippines-European Union (EU) FTA.

“I think that will also push all of us to hurry up a bit in terms of what we have already started in terms of the Philippines-EU FTA,” he said.

In October last year, the Philippines and the EU resumed FTA talks, which had been stalled since 2017.

The next round of talks for the FTA between the Philippines and EU will be held on Feb.10 to 14.

ECCP president Paulo Duarte said the group is eagerly anticipating the upcoming round of talks for the FTA between the Philippines and the EU.

“The ECCP strongly believes these negotiations will pave the way for enhanced cooperation between Europe and the Philippines,” Duarte said.

The EU-Philippines FTA forms part of the ECCP’s wish list to help encourage investments into the country.

ECCP’s wish list also includes the passage of the Open Access in Data Transmission Act, strengthening of the Anti-Red Tape Authority and proper implementation of tax reforms like the CREATE MORE.

Duarte said the ECCP continues to push for strengthening both physical and digital infrastructure to encourage investments into the country.

“These efforts are crucial for attracting further investment and fostering sustainable economic development across the country,” he said.