THE US business chamber said it hopes free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the Philippines will get going in 2019.
“We are hoping for bilateral trade talks to get underway in 2019,” American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. Senior Adviser John D. Forbes said in a mobile message late last year.
Mr. Forbes encouraged greater efforts to increase exports particularly from economic zones regulated by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
The Department of Trade and Industry has said that initial talks to determine the scope of the FTA are expected to make progress this year.
Last year, Manila and Washington announced that they have resolved recurring issues in their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
Those issues concerned customs valuation, intellectual property rights, market access for Philippine agricultural products into the US, and meeting international standards for automotive safety and food hygiene.
The Philippines and the US also moved forward from technical and policy dialogues on the National Retail Payments System and other measures related to electronic payment services, including domestic retail debit and credit electronic payment transactions.
Mr. Forbes also delivered the chamber’s outlook for the Philippine economy next year.
“AmCham is optimistic about the economy in 2019. We believe strong growth will continue, inflation will moderate, and job generation will continue to be strong,” he said.
Mr. Forbes also encouraged the government to beat the 8 million tourist arrival mark; provide support for the “challenged” business process outsourcing industry; develop the potential of agriculture, especially for export; and lift the moratorium on new mining production permits, subject to environmental compliance.
Bilateral trade between the Philippines and the US amounted to $27 billion in 2016, of which merchandise goods made up $18 billion.
The Philippines is a beneficiary of the US generalized system of preferences (GSP) under which over 3,000 Philippine products enjoy duty-free access to the US.
About $1.5 billion worth of Philippine goods enter the US tariff-free. — Janina C. Lim
