The Senate is poised to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by December, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said.
Pascual, in an interview with GMA News at the sidelines of the recently concluded APEC Summit in Bangkok, expressed confidence thefree trade agreement (FTA) will finally hurdle the Senate after years of negotiations.
“We hope to see the ratification of RCEP by the Senate by the end of the year, hopefully,” he said.
Based on its forecast, the DTI expects the regional agreement to boost the country’s exports by 10.47 percent, and to bring the real gross domestic product (GDP) up by 2.02 percent.
Last week the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) urged the Senate to ratify the trade deal, saying that the country “cannot afford” not to be part of the accord.
“We have already lost 10 months of [our] ability to compete on [an] equal footing with our ASEAN and Asian partners already in RCEP in attracting foreign investments as they capitalize on the shift by a number of MNCs (multinational companies) to seek alternative locations for their manufacturing sites,” the MAP said.
RCEP’s 15-member economies, including the ten ASEAN members plus Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea, together account for 30 percent of the world’s population and of global gross domestic product (GDP).
The trade pact would cover 50 percent of the global manufacturing output, 50 percent of the global automotive output, 70 percent of electronics, and 26 percent of the global value chain.
Even before he assumed office, then President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recognized the importance of the RCEP.
“I’m a great proponent, a believer in trade. Progressive countries are very involved in trade. All the great economies in the past 200 to 300 years really became rich because of trade and commerce,” he said in an interview in early June.
“So, let’s have a look at it again and make sure our agri sector will not be at a disadvantage. If we ratify that, we have to ensure our system is ready to compete. Otherwise, the competitiveness of our local industries will be lost,” Mr. Marcos added.
Aside from MAP, business organizations that have backed the ratification of the trade deal include the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and the Makati Business Club (MBC).
