RP up 20 notches in trade facilitation index — DTI

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo has expressed optimism about reducing trade barriers and has vowed that the government will continue efforts to improve the business environment in the country.

“It’s been a long time coming, we’re happy with the results, it shows that all our efforts this past two years are starting to pay off’” Domingo said in response to the results of the 2012 Global Enabling Trade Report, where the Philippines recorded a significant improvement, from the 2010 ranking of 92nd to 72nd this year.

The Global Enabling Trade Report 2012, which was published by the World Economic Forum, measures the factors, policies and services that facilitate the trade in goods across the borders of 132 countries. It includes the areas of market access, border administration, transport and communication infrastructure as well as business environment.

Each area consists of pillars and indicators that assess the different aspects of a country’s trade environment. The Philippines greatly improved in the area of market access where it jumped 50 notches, from 64th in 2010 to 14th this year.

Domingo attributed this improvement to the DTI’s efforts to facilitate trade across borders such as the Doing Business in Free-Trade Areas (DBFTA), an awareness campaign that aims to help various stakeholders understand the emerging and new markets as well as instruments such as free-trade agreements (FTAs).

“We involve everyone. We’re trying to spread the word to our people to be able to use the FTAs,” Domingo said.

DBFTA sessions will be held in key cities in the country this year and each session will include presentations on market opportunities including non-tariff measures, the country’s FTA markets, the tariff rates on top exports for sectors under the FTAs, the rules of origin, an open forum and business testimonials. Help desks will also be made available after each session to provide assistance to interested exporters and importers.

Domingo said that the other initiatives were in place to bring down trade barriers. He cited the Asean Single Window (ASW), a component of the progressive schemes on customs development shared by the 10-member Asean bloc. Among its pivotal role is the formulation and implementation of rules and procedures for trade facilitation.

Recently, the Philippines was chosen to chair the ASW steering committee to supervise its forthcoming projects and activities.

The DTI is also pursuing reforms to improve the ease of doing business in the country. “We are continuing to work on things including the Philippine Business Registry (PBR)… and the BPLS (Business Permits and License Streamlining) of LGUs,” Domingo said.

The PBR was launched last January to speed up the business registration process and is now available in all DTI field offices nationwide for new single proprietorship registration.

The streamlining of business permits and licensing systems, on the other hand, is a joint project of DTI and Department of Interior and Local Government, and targets to reduce the number of days, steps, documents and signatures required to get a permit from the local government units. PNA