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Philippines still keen on trade deal with US – Pascual
THE PHILIPPINES remains open forging trade deals despite US Trade Representative Katherine Tai saying that the US was not considering a pact with the Philippines at the moment, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said on Wednesday.
In an interview with reporters, Pascual said that Tai’s remarks were understandable as the US was also facing several problems with its economy.
“We had a discussion on this and we understand where she is coming from. But it cannot prevent us from further pushing,” he said.
“The important thing is we’re not closing the door to formalizing trade relations between the Philippines and the United States” he added.
With regard to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Pascual said the IPEF would be the forum or the platform the Department of Trade and Industry would use to push for formal trade relations between the Philippines and the US.
“It is [this framework] that we will use as a platform to work on formal trade relations between the Philippines and the US because the US has initiated the IPEF to improve the trade environment. Trade environment is just one of the pillars, and there are others,” Pascual said.
He clarified that IPEF was not a trade agreement since it would not cover market access or tariffs. It provides a way of addressing certain process constraints.
Tai had emphasized the focus of the IPEF and said that it was the Biden administration’s most advanced trade initiative in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Obviously, the IPEF is one of our highest priorities right now, and it is really important to us that the Philippines is at the table and participating,” Tai said in a media roundtable.
Launched in May 2022, the IPEF aims to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness and competitiveness among 14 participating countries — the US, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/04/20/business/top-business/ph-still-keen-on-trade-deal-with-us-pascual/1887875