Senate OKs PHL-South Korea FTA

THE PHILIPPINE Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading a resolution calling for concurrence in the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and South Korea.

In Senate Resolution No. 1188, Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos said the free trade deal, which was signed on Sept. 7 last year in Indonesia, would encourage more foreign direct investments and more concessions than those under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The pact will remove tariffs on about 94.8% of Philippine products and 96.5% of South Korean goods.

Under the Constitution, international agreements and treaties require the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate’s members for ratification.

The Philippines plans to export more bananas and processed pineapples to South Korea once the FTA is finalized. 

Earlier this month, the Pilipino Banana Growers & Exporters Association, Inc. lobbied for the Senate’s concurrence in the free trade pact to boost banana exports and to compensate for losses caused by the Panama disease.

“The FTA is also expected to stimulate more Korean investments into the country,” Ms. Marcos said in her sponsorship speech earlier this month.

South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa earlier told reporters he was hoping for the pact to be a “game-changer” for trade and investment between Manila and Seoul.

The Philippines is expected generate as much as P200 billion worth of foreign direct investments from the electric vehicle industry and agricultural processing sector within three years, Ms. Marcos said, citing estimates by the Trade department. — John Victor D. Ordoñez