DTI sees completion of UAE FTA negotiations this year

An official from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said they are hoping to finish the negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year.

DTI Undersecretary Atty. Allan Gepty of the International Trade Group (ITG) told reporters on April 29 that they will start the first round of negotiations of the Philippines-uae Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on May 6.

"So far, I see a lot of alignments when it comes to the trade and investment policy direction of the Philippines and UAE so that's why I'm confident that I think we can conclude the negotiation within the year," said Gepty at the sidelines of the Gawad Yamang Isip Awards in Makati City.

The venues for negotiations will occur alternately in Manila and Dubai, with the first round beginning in Dubai.

The first round will focus on text negotiations and concluding chapters, following the terms of reference (TOR) agreed upon for the FTA.

"In terms of language, of course, that will have to be negotiated. So we'll have to factor in the sensitivities, also the levels of development, the parties, so in this case, we PH and UAE, so in terms of levels of development, of course we can say UAE is more advanced, so depending on the areas of negotiation, so we'll have to consider that also," he said.

Gepty explained that the FTA will cover market access and other areas such as intellectual property, competition, digital trade, e-commerce, as well as negotiations on government procurement and the movement of natural persons in relation to services.

The government is aiming to get a preferential arrangement for agricultural and industrial products through the FTA.

shared that aside from workers, the Philippines has strong exports of aerospace parts to the UAE. Since the UAE is home to big airlines, he hopes the country can also benefit from aerospace services aside from parts.

"So definitely an FTA will be a big help for them as far as stable business environment is concerned, and of course in the same manner it's also important for UAE investors here in the Philippines because as always a stable business environment would really encourage some more investments in the country," he remarked. (Khriscielle E. Yalao)