NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — During this administration, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are making one more push to get the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) approved by the Senate.

This comes after the agencies briefed senators again on Monday on the country’s benefits from joining the RCEP.

The Senate’s approval is the final stage before the country may deposit its ratification instrument.

Both the NEDA and the DTI emphasized that parliamentarians should consider the total economic impact of the country’s membership in the RCEP, not just the concerns of a single industry.

Concerns made by several agriculture-related groups in the Senate appear to be impeding the upper house’s approval of the regional free trade agreement (FTA), as they worry the agreement will flood the country with cheaper imported goods.

The two agencies, particularly the DTI, have been assuaging the anxieties of various agricultural groups, stating that the RCEP poses no threat to the local economy.

The government has guaranteed that the interests of the local agriculture industry are respected, according to DTI Assistant Secretary Allan Gepty, the country’s principal negotiator for the RCEP.

According to Gepty, the country excluded key agricultural items from deregulation throughout the negotiations.

“We have only liberalized 33 agriculture tariff lines in the RCEP.” 17 of the 33 tariff lines are for raw materials, 8 are for inputs, and just 8 are for finished goods. This represents only 1.9 percent of total agricultural tariff lines and even less than 1% of total imports in the country. “This is insignificant in comparison to the enormous benefits that the entire economy, including agriculture, industry, services, and investments, would receive,” Gepty remarked.

RCEP can be ratified, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Karl Kendrick Chua, if the government boosts its support for farmers.

“We will assist the agriculture sector in being more competitive and productive because it is the bedrock of our structural transformation into a prosperous country.” But not at the expense of the many other industries that require our assistance. So, what we recommend is that we ratify the RCEP while also assisting the farm industry in being more competitive,” Chua explained.

Francis Mark Quimba, a research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), warned during earlier Senate hearings on RCEP that if the Philippines does not join the regional trade agreement, it will miss out on a 2-percent growth in GDP.

While other countries have approved the RCEP and are reaping its benefits, the Philippines is anticipated to see a 0.26 percent drop in GDP.

“The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) goes beyond liberalization. We already have a high rate of liberalization, between 85 and 95 percent, thanks to the ASEAN and ASEAN+1 FTAs. Joining RCEP just adds three points to your score. Delaying RCEP means “losing opportunities to bring our products to other countries with lower tariffs and lose these markets, as well as other opportunities opened by RCEP in areas like services, investment, MSMEs, e-commerce, and for Filipino services exporters and skilled professionals,” according to DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Only the Philippines and Indonesia have yet to deposit their instrument of ratification in the RCEP, which has 15 signatory nations.

After depositing the ratification instrument, the Philippines will begin to reap the benefits of the RCEP 60 days later.

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