Daily Tribune (Philippines)

Regional trade pact must be even — DTI

ATIGA aims to achieve a free flow of goods in the region resulting in fewer trade barriers and deeper economic linkages among the member states

- BY RAFFY AYENG @tribunephl_raf

The Department of Trade and Industry chief has sought the smoother facilitati­on of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement or ATIGA commitment­s, particular­ly in the issuance and acceptance of certificat­es of origin.

During his attendance at the 54th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting held on 13 to 15 September 2022 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Pascual told counterpar­ts that “Outright rejection of ATIGA tariff preference­s due to failure of ticking a relevant box in the CO does not support ASEAN’s trade facilitati­on goals and discourage­s companies from using our FTAs.”

ATIGA aims to achieve a free flow of goods in the region resulting in fewer trade barriers and deeper economic linkages among the member states, lower business costs, increased trade, and a larger market and economies of scale for businesses.

The 54th AEM Meeting was convened to discuss critical issues within the ASEAN region such as strengthen­ed economic integratio­n and relations with dialogue Partners to facilitate post-pandemic growth and recovery.

Trade moves backed

On the other hand, Pascual expressed support for several initiative­s that seek to facilitate greater economic integratio­n in the region, including the launch of the ATIGA upgrade negotiatio­ns, the negotiatio­ns for an ASEAN Framework Agreement on Competitio­n, the extension of the memorandum of understand­ing on essential goods, and the status of Cambodia’s Priority Economic Deliverabl­es for the year as part of their ASEAN Chairmansh­ip this year.

“Out of the 19 Priority Economic Deliverabl­es or PEDs that were put together, we are pleased to see that significan­t progress has been made and we look forward to ASEAN’s continued cooperatio­n and accelerati­on of efforts for the timely completion of the remaining PEDs,” Pascual said.

Externally, the Philippine­s welcomed the progress made in the negotiatio­ns for the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN-Canada FTA, as well as the implementa­tion of economic cooperatio­n work plans with ASEAN’s dialogue partners.

The 54th AEM Meeting and Related Meetings ended on Sunday, where dialogue partners namely Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United Kingdom will be meeting with ASEAN Economic Ministers to discuss economic cooperatio­n and flows of goods, services and investment­s.

Out of the 19 Priority Economic Deliverabl­es or PEDs that were put together, we are pleased to see that significan­t progress has been made.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines