Hurdles seen for PH-US trade deal

CURRENT political events in the United States might impact the speed of discussions on a possible Philippines- US free trade agreement ( FTA), the Department of Trade and Industry ( DTI) said.

In an interview, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said negotiations for the deal “might be affected because the speed of [ discussions on it] is triggered also by the [ current US] administration, because of the good relationship [ between President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Donald Trump], so in a way it is being facilitated.”

His remarks came after Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen had implicated his exboss in crimes supposed committed during the latter’s 2016 White House campaign. The move has fueled speculation that the divisive American leader would soon face impeachment.

Although Lopez refused to comment on Trump’s possible impeachment, he emphasized that an FTA between Manila and Washington would be beneficial to both.

“It [ also] makes economic sense for them to have an FTA with the Philippines, which is their socalled long- time ally. They are doing it with Vietnam and Japan and [ South] Korea…” he said.

While the Philippines currently enjoys preferential duty- free entry to the US through its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme, the Trade chief hopes that formal FTA discussions would soon begin.

During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last year, Trump said he would consider a possible FTA with the Philippines following a bilateral meeting with President Duterte.

ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES