Asean ill-prepared for 2015 market integration–PCCI

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said the country is not yet ready for the economic integration of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as it urged the Aquino administration to speed up implementation of infrastructure projects for an efficient transport system to make way for an efficient trade and investments facilitation.

PCCI President Miguel Varela enumerated several constraints, which, he said, impede the economic growth of the Philippines and may result in loss of benefits from the free-trade agreements in the economic integration; the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the plan to join the second round of US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The PCCI has lined up measures, among which are ensuring adequate and cost-competitive fuel and electricity costs, and rehabilitation and reconstruction of airports and seaport to accommodate the increase number of foreign tourists and rising number of trade goods.

Varela said the government has to prioritize “the construction of roads, rails and bridges, with priority given to linking airports and seaports to cities and key destinations and farm-to-market roads.”

Donald Dee, PCCI vice chairman, admitted that “none of the Asean countries are ready for the economic integration by 2015 due to the lack of infrastructure, high cost of logistics and need for additional transportation system.”

“Next year our biggest challenge is to make our small and medium enterprises [SMEs] prepared for the Asean economic integration to ensure that they benefit from increase in trade and investments,” said Dee in an earlier briefing at the PCCI office in Taguig City.

He said the biggest challenge to the Asean economic integration is to allow small businesses to grow, saying that 90 per cent of the growth in the region come from fewer large countries, including Singapore and Malaysia.

Dee also said the government should push for stronger financing schemes to help SMEs level off with their Asean counterparts when markets integrate by 2015.

Sergio Luis Ortiz Jr., PCCI honorary chairman and treasurer, said since the Asean countries will implement zero tariff by 2015, not all products will be included. He said the government should look more on the impact of nontariff barriers.

“We’re very concerned with the nontariff barriers that include the Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, there lie the competition among Asean members,” said Luis-Ortiz, who is also the president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation.

Asean groups the economies of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam, which have agreed to establish a single market and production base by 2015 to facilitate trade and investments, and narrow the development gap among members. –Estrella Torres, BUsinessmirror