Big business groups back Senate ratification of RCEP
The proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) mega free trade deal gets the full backing of local and foreign business chambers in the country.
Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines or ECOP, said the Senate ratification of the RCEP is an integral part of the country's economic development, adding that only the Philippines is the only one among the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN and its five free trade agreement (FTA) partners which has not ratified the agreement.
The ASEAN's FTA partners are Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
"Among our ASEAN neighbors, we are at the tail end. Everyone has joined already," said Ortiz-Luis in supporting the Senate ratification of the RCEP.
"The Senate ratification will bring us competitive with others, at least to a certain degree. We can’t afford not to have trade agreements and, at the same time, to not be part of it," he added.
Ortiz-Luis said doubts about the country’s competitiveness to enter a free trade deal are misplaced.
“We have lessons in the past, we enter into negotiations without involving the private sector. And by the time we are allowed to take part there are already promised safeguards, especially in the agriculture sector, that have disappeared, so there are bad lessons.
“Fortunately, in the case of RCEP, this is widely debated on and for a long time, so we are already familiar. And if there are vacuums, these have been filled up, there are safeguards already,” he said.
As to perceived fears about RCEP’s disadvantageous effects to the agricultural sector, the ECOP head said that these have been addressed repeatedly “so the risks are very minimal, if ever.”
“We have waited long enough for this (ratification), and we are very late already. All the others have overtaken us,” Ortiz-Luis said.
As to perceived fears about RCEP’s disadvantageous effects to the agricultural sector, the ECOP head said that these have been addressed repeatedly “so the risks are very minimal, if ever.”
“We have waited long enough for this (ratification), and we are very late already. All the others have overtaken us,” Ortiz-Luis said.
For its part, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham) has issued a similar statement strongly supporting RCEP ratification.
“The Philippines cannot afford to leave itself out of the bloc since being a member will harness economic benefits that will hasten economic recovery from the scars, higher debt and economic damages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read.
“The Chamber believes that the Philippines’ participation in RCEP will boost the country’s competitiveness and will reflect a strong, rules-based economy. This will encourage more foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the country which ultimately translates into more jobs for Filipinos."
“We strongly urge the Honorable members of the Philippine Senate to immediately ratify RCEP,” the chamber said, noting that the agreement is already in force in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam," it added.