Philippines and the US to start free trade talks “
MANILA The Philippines will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement with the United States in September, its ambassador to Washington said yesterday, in a bid to expand market access for its agricultural products.
Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters the first round of talks will be held in Washington and would likely focus on labour, intellectual property and agriculture as Manila looks to boost exports to foreign markets.
Its just the start and this will take some time, maybe one or two years, Romualdez said, adding the Philippines has a US$5.4 billion trade surplus with the US in 2016, one of the countrys top trading partners.
Romualdez said a free trade agreement with the worlds largest economy was likely to be approved given that the Philippines is a much smaller US trading partner than China and Europe, which have become targets of the Trump administrations America First trade agenda.
Trade tensions between Washington and China have escalated after US President Donald Trumps administration, threatened 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
Annual two-way trade of
Its just the start and this will take some time, maybe one or two years. JOSE MANUEL ROMUALDEZ PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR
goods and services between the Philippines and its long-term ally totaled $27 billion in 2016, according to the Office of US Trade Representative. It would be Washingtons second FTA with a Southeast Asian country after Singapore.
Initial talks on the PhilippinesUS FTA were held in November after President Rodrigo Duterte met with US Donald Trump during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.
About 75 per cent of Philippine exports to the US already enter the American market dutyfree, but Manila wants to gain market access for its garments and textiles, wristwatches and agricultural products, including top export carrageenan and seaweed. REUTERS