PH-KOREA FTA SIGNING SET

The free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and South Korea is ready for signing, perhaps as early as the first quarter next year, a senior trade official said on Monday.

“The agreement is ready to be signed,” Ceferino Rodolfo, undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), told reporters, adding that the documentation was completed as early as October.

He said the Philippines’ main interest in the FTA is the export of banana and processed pineapple to South Korea, as these goods are currently levied a 30-percent tariff.

The trade official added that the Philippines is also looking at directly supplying South Korea with nickel ore, considering that the latter still imports from China.

Asked about the potential foreign direct investments the FTA could bring in, Rodolfo pegged it at between P150 billion and P200 billion in three years.