A trade official announced recently that the Philippines could soon be looking at forging commercially meaningful partnerships with US businesses and investors. The announcement was made in light of the expected arrival of an American trade mission to the country next week.
“There will be a high-level delegation comprised of 22 business delegates, C-level representatives from strategic sectors next week and what would be discussed is, of course, how to enhance our trade and investment relations,” said Jollan Margaret Llaneza, Foreign Trade Service Officer of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI), in a media forum held recently in Quezon City.
“Ang goal po natin dito is, of course, to foster iyong relationship ng ating Philippine business sector with their American counterparts para po magkaroon tayo ng mga commercially meaningful partnerships,” she stated further.
Llaneza said that this was the result of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s visit to the United States last year, where US President Joe Biden committed to send high-level trade and investment missions to the Philippines.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) is shown here while shaking hands with US President Joe Biden during the former’s state visit to the US last year
Earlier last week, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson announced that the delegation would be led by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and that her group would be in Manila to engage with Filipino stakeholders.
The incoming trade and investment mission next week is expected to meet with President Marcos Jr. in Malacanang, as well as with Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual. The visit, according to Watson, would help reinforce the Philippines as a “key hub for regional supply chains and high-quality investment.”
The US remains as one of PH’s top trading partners
In terms of the country’s trade and investment relationship, Llanera said the US belongs to the Philippines’ top three trading partners, along with Japan and China.
“Kung mapapansin ninyo po si US po at si Japan are actually our strategic partners. So, kung napapansin ninyo po iyong sa discussion po kanina mayroon po silang napapag-usapan na mga other defense treaties – so, part po iyan ng kabuuan ng ating strategic partnership with the United States,” Llanera said.
“Sa Japan naman po, mayroon po tayong mga policy instruments that frame our economic relations,” she added.
“So, mayroon po tayong bilateral free trade agreement with Japan iyong tinatawag po natin na Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or iyong PJEPA and mayroon din po tayong agreement with actually with them under the context of ASEAN,” she further pointed out.
Concerning China, the Philippines maintains a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Asian giant under the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), or the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement.
Both Japan and China are part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).
According to Llanera, the country benefits from these trade agreements through much lower tariff rates as well as more liberalized market access for Filipino exporters.