Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual (file photo)
MANILA – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will enter into force in the Philippines on June 2, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said Thursday.
Tariff commitments under the RCEP will be implemented in the country 60 days after the government deposited the instrument of ratification with the ASEAN Secretary General on April 3, he said.
Pascual presented to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the executive order (EO) that would operationalize the implementation of the country’s tariff commitments under the RCEP agreement.
He said the EO would be signed by the Chief Executive anytime soon or until the entry into force of the new free trade agreement (FTA) on June 2.
“Once issued, the EO shall be the basis of the Bureau of Customs for the issuance of Customs Administrative Order, which shall be distributed to all ports to allow for the implementation of the preferential tariffs on imports from RCEP member countries,” he said in a Palace briefing.
Pascual said the EO would allow the President to modify import duties, including necessary changes in classification and other import restrictions as required or appropriate to carry out and promote foreign trade, upon recommendation of the NEDA Board.
He said the EO would maintain the current preferential tariffs of 98.1 percent of the 1,718 agricultural tariff lines and 82.7 percent of the 8,102 industrial tariff lines.
Pascual said of the 1,685 agricultural tariff lines that are retained at current rates, 1,426 are maintained at zero, while 154 would remain in their respective most favored nation (MFN) rates and excluded in any form of tariff concessions.
In the pipeline, about 105 agricultural tariff lines, which are in the sensitive and highly sensitive list, shall be generally lower than the MFN rates but still higher or at par with the ASEAN+1 rates by the 20th year of the RCEP.
“For the remaining 33 lines, these are the important 33 lines, the EO will reduce tariff rates upon entry into force or implement gradual reduction over a period of 15 to 20 years,” Pascual said, adding that the government will examine these tariff lines, particularly agricultural products that are not being produced in the Philippines.
Pascual urged businesses to take advantage of the new FTA, of which the Philippines is a signatory.
“We’ll start establishing assistance centers for businesses for possible assistance that we might be able to give to further help them implement the RCEP provisions,” he added.
The Senate concurred with the RCEP ratification on Feb. 21, 2023, two years since the RCEP participating countries concluded the negotiations in November 2020.
The Philippines was the last among 15 countries to ratify the agreement.
The RCEP participating countries are composed of the 10 ASEAN member nations and its FTA partners, except India, which pulled out its participation from the agreement.
ASEAN+1 partners that are part of the RCEP include Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, and South Korea. (PNA)
