PH stands firm in forging FTA with US

NEW YORK CITY —The Philippine government is not backing down from its objective to forge a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, according to a top Trade official.

In a meeting with Filipino journalist-participants of the Friends, Partners, Allies Program here, Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo admitted that the current “political dynamics” in the US —in time for the November presidential elections— makes it difficult for Washington, D.C. to launch an FTA “not just with the Philippines… it’s across all countries.”

Rodolfo, nevertheless, said that “the Philippine government continues to aggressively push for an FTA with the US.”

The Trade official said signaling Manila's firm intent in securing a free trade deal with D.C. is “important towards putting the Philippines first in line” by the time the US opens its doors for FTA negotiations.

Last year, US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai said that a bilateral FTA between the Philippines and the US was not on the negotiating table as the Biden administration was more focused on its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) initiative. 

Rodolfo, however, said there is strong support for a US-Philippines FTA in the business sector as well as “the congressional delegations that have been visiting the Philippines.”

“That's why we are hopeful,” he said.

The latest data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the United States was the biggest recipient of Philippine exports in February with $947.83 million or 16.0% of the total, followed by Japan with $849.17 million or 14.4%.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the US Congress is moving towards reviving its Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which provided duty-free entry of exports to the American market from select countries such as the Philippines. 

The GSP program was instituted in January 1976 under the US Trade Act of 1974 for 10 years and has been renewed periodically since then by the US Congress.

For the Philippines, the GSP scheme allowed the country duty-free entry to the US market of some 3,500 eligible products. Manila’s eligibility for the US GSP expired on December 31, 2020.

DTI-Export Marketing Bureau Director Bianca Sykimte, for her part, said that the potential renewal of the GSP scheme will benefit a lot of exporters by increasing the competitiveness of Philippine-made products in the global market.

“Our utilization of the GSP stands at about 70%. We're actually one of the biggest users of the GSP,” Rodolfo said.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., speaking before a forum co-hosted by the US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce early this month, appealed to the US to expedite the reauthorization of the GSP scheme. —VAL, GMA Integrated News