FREE TRADE PACT WITH US WILL PUT PH IN INVESTORS' PRIORITY LIST — EX-US COMMERCE USEC

SAN FRANCISCO—A free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States—the largest economy in the world—is seen to boost the Philippines' attractiveness among foreign investors, according to a former official of the US Department of Commerce (DOC).

At a briefing with reporters here, Frank Lavin, who served as undersecretary for international trade in the DOC during the George W. Bush administration, said that an FTA with the US "moves the Philippines up in a priority list."

"You know, [when] people are saying, 'one of the top 10 markets I have to look at for expansion and activity'… you say well the Philippines might not be on that list but with the FTA, the Philippines might be on that list," Lavin said.

The Philippines is a laggard among its peers in Southeast Asia in terms of foreign direct investments (FDIs). In 2023, the country saw its FDI decline by 6.6% to $8.9 billion from $9.4 billion in 2023.

The Philippines is behind its neighbors Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam with FDIs amounting to $175.2 billion, $21.7 billion, and $12.7 billion, respectively.

The Philippines is aggressively pushing for an FTA with the US.

Latest data 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%.

Lavin said that incremental liberalization makes sense for the country as it protects its domestic industries.

However, he said that the Philippine government should convince Filipino businessmen that "you can now do business in the US as easily as you can do domestically."

"So I would say incremental liberalization makes sense. But don't stand still, would be my advice…. You better move," Lavin said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had earlier said that an FTA between the US and the Philippines "will be transformative and will create new jobs, strengthen supply chains, establish new businesses, and upskill our workforce." — VDV, GMA Integrated News

This article Free trade pact with US will put PH in investors' priority list — ex-US Commerce usec was originally published in GMA News Online.

2024-04-30T16:14:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd