Understanding the FTAs

IN November last year, marathon info sessions were held in key cities around the country to talk to manufacturers about the benefits they can derive from the free trade agreements inked with other countries. This was conducted in an effort to increase the level of utilization of these FTAs. After all, of what good are these if none or only a few of our exporters avail of it.

We went to a total of eleven cities talking about the PJEPA or the Philippine Japan Economic Partnership Agreement which incidentally is now undergoing review, the Asean-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the AANZFTA or the Asean -Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement.

Under these agreements, certain tariff barriers have been lifted and may now be enjoyed by our exporters. But how many of our people actually know this and are actually interested to use these? The lack of awareness and what to make of it are the factors that were identified which contribute to a low level of utilization. This is the reason why these info sessions on the various FTAs were conducted. Each industry, however, has its own set of peculiarities and so, in round 2 of the info sessions, the approach will be different. It will now be on a per sector or per industry basis. For instance, the food industry would have different tariff reduction rates from, let’s say, the auto parts industry. So definitely, their info session will be separate from each other. If you have questions or comments about these free trade agreements, you may contact the Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) which is a bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry in charge of FTAs.

Hopefully, after this second round, more exporters will understand how to use these FTAs and will take advantage of the benefits they bring. Consequently, the level of utilization will increase. If it still does not, then obviously it is not the awareness that is the problem. Next time our negotiators start negotiating, it may be prudent to take with them feedback from the end users. Have our people and will our people really benefit from entering into these trade agreements? Do we have enough safety nets to protect our own industries with the entry of imported goods? Finally, is this what our exporters want? Nagpapaalala lang naman po!

SAVE Act
While we have yet to see the full utilization of the FTAs, the government is now working on trade agreements with the EU and the US. On the legislative side, US Senator Ensign has refiled the SAVE Act after it failed to be passed during the lame duck session of the US Congress last December. This is the last chance for this bill to be passed . . . at least for this Congress. If it still fails, then we cannot expect it to be passed anymore in the near term considering that it is already election year in the US. We are hopeful that it will be since the passage of this bill will mean more livelihood and more jobs for workers in the garment and textile industry. –THELMA DUMPIT-MURILLO, Manila Times

thelmadm@yahoo.com