RCEP TO STRENGTHEN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) emphasized the key role that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement will play in furthering cooperation and trade within the region at a forum hosted by the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) last April 21, 2022.

The forum was attended by APCU members composed of Filipino businessmen, academics, journalists, various local and international organizations, and diplomats.

DTI Assistant Secretary Allan B. Gepty emphasized that RCEP is not just about trade in goods, but has notable value-added provisions in services, investments, e-commerce, competition, and intellectual property, among others. He also elaborated some key features of the RCEP agreement, such as streamlined customs procedures and a single set of rules of origin for the export products of all RCEP countries, as opposed to the multiple sets of rules that govern trade within the region. These features will help lower the prices for goods and materials within the region, as administrative costs will be reduced by these measures.

He underscored that a mega trade deal like RCEP had substantial advantages over the existing ASEAN FTAs since it enhances market access and provides a stable regulatory framework for the entire region. Addressing a question about RCEP’s effects on agricultural products, Asec. Gepty noted that tariff liberalization under the Agreement would be comparatively limited considering existing FTAs with the other RCEP parties. He stressed that in RCEP only 33 agricultural tariff lines will be further liberalized under RCEP which is only equivalent to 1.9% of the total agricultural tariff lines.

In response to concerns over the possible deferral of Philippine accession to the RCEP agreement, he stressed that such a move may result in the erosion of the country’s comparative advantage in existing export products and the country’s positioning as a manufacturing hub in the region as investors and businesses will opt to invest in and trade with countries within the RCEP region instead. He concluded that not ratifying the RCEP agreement would run counter to the momentum generated by the recent passage of economic reforms and send conflicting signals to investors and other stakeholders.

“We have amended the Foreign Investments Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Public Service Act. So basically, we are telling the whole world that we are opening our market for trade and investment, and yet here you are, the Philippines, trying to restrict its participation in the globalized economy,” he said.

Other speakers at the event included Dr. Theresa Chong Cariño, Senior Research Consultant at The Amity Foundation, and Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong, President of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FFCCII). /

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