The Philippines is now equipped for the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“Philippines is very well positioned for the ASEAN economic integration because the country has a more liberalized environment compared with its neighbors,” said DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo during a business forum organized by The Manila Times on Wednesday.
The ASEAN Economic Community will formally come into force by the end of the year. It facilitates free trade in goods and services and the free flow of skilled labor and investments across member states including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Among the ASEAN 6 – Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – 99.7 percent of goods sourced within the region are already being traded at zero tariffs. The rest of ASEAN are not far behind as they already offer zero to 1 percent duties on 98.9 percent,” Domingo noted.
All member states are expected to complete liberalizing trade in goods in the next three years.
“Only a very small number of goods are exempted from tariff elimination. For example in the Philippines, the ones that are exempted from tariff elimination are very few; these are primarily agricultural products such as rice, sugar, cassava, sweet potatoes and chicken,” said Domingo.
As for the free flow of services, the Philippines has been actively participating in negotiations since 2007 to open up various sectors.
ASEAN members are working on mutual recognition arrangements for accounting, architecture, dentistry, nursing, surveying and tourism.
“Agreements covering 128 sectors are due for submission this year. Of these, 80 percent has already been liberalized,” said Domingo.
The most critical issues surrounding the ASEAN economic integration includes access to finance and the costs micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tend to incur in the process, Dr. Mohd Munir Abdul Mahjid, co-chairperson of the ASEAN Integration BAC in 2014, said during the forum.
“MSMEs have very small access to finance. Something concrete must be done. We must focus on MSMEs because they are the backbone of the ASEAN Community,” he added. – VS, GMA News
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