Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual expressed confidence the country’s free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea will be signed within the year. Pascual told reporters covering the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) Outstanding Filipino Awards Night last week that the text of the bilateral FTA has already passed legal scrubbing by both parties. “We are closing to signing,” Pascual said. Although he mentioned “end July” date based on his talk with his South Korean counterpart, he also said that the signing is feasible within this year. According to Pascual, he discussed the FTA signing with his South Korean counterpart in May this year in which they agreed to work for a timeframe on the grant of an “Authority to Sign” by their respective presidents.
Both trade secretaries have no “Authority to Sign” the FTA yet, but Pascual said he already requested President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the authority. He stressed the importance of having a synchronized effectivity period for the authority to avoid embarrassment from either side.
The “Authority to Sign” has an expiry date. “I don’t know the period in which I can exercise the authority, so we need to coordinate to avoid embarrassment.”
The PH-ROK FTA Negotiations was launched in June 2019 in Seoul by then Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and MOTIE Minister for Trade Yoo Myung-hee.
This was following with the signing by both parties of the Early Achievement Package of the PH-KOR FTA Negotiations in November 2019, which locked in a number of products that have already been offered by both sides at the time. The proposed bilateral FTA recognizes the potential of both countries to advance economic relations by enhancing trade and investment flow between them through, removal of impediments to closer trade and creation of business and investment opportunities. Both sides had the common goal to achieve a comprehensive and future-oriented FTA.
In negotiating the FTA, the Philippines hopes to secure improved market access for agricultural products such as bananas and other tropical fruits, as well as industrial products and other services.
The FTA, once enforced, will be an important vehicle for improving the balance of trade with South Korea through enhanced trade flows, facilitating the movement of natural persons, and generating more investment opportunities and by extension, job generation possibilities.
But kinks in the issues on agriculture access for Philippine fruits and motor vehicle tariffs stalled the negotiations.