DTI: Marcos Admin Will Prioritize RCEP

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual has stated that the current Marcos administration plans to prioritize the participation of the Philippines in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

During a general membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Secretary Pascual said that “RCEP is a priority of the administration. We have clarified this in one of our cabinet meetings,”

Secretary Pascual also mentioned that the DTI plans on pushing for the ratification of the RCEP and several free trade agreements (FTAs), also adding that in the ASEAN region, the Philippines has the least amount of FTAs, having only 10.

Singapore has 27 FTAs, Malaysia has 17, while Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand each have 15.

“These will diversify the country’s exports in terms of products and services and country destinations and enhance the country’s attractiveness to foreign investments,”  states Sec Pascual.

“Most foreign investments in China, for instance, are export-oriented industries. They are from big multinationals having transferred their production facilities to China and using China as a production place,” he adds.

The DTI Secretary also says that without the RCEP and the FTAs, the Philippines would not be considered an ideal location for some export-oriented business ventures.

He also adds that the urgency to immediately ratify the RCEP is in place with the DTI’s strategy to develop an environment for expanding the export pool and enticing more investments.

The RCEP is a multi-trade agreement between ASEAN countries including South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, China, and Japan, and is aimed to increase Philippine exports with enhanced market access.

Source: Philstar