Ladies and gentlemen, magandang araw po sa lahat.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this virtual International Trade Forum on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.
We signed the RCEP Agreement last year, together with 14 of our FTA Partners, after eight years of extensive negotiations. This is an ASEAN-led mega free trade deal, and the signing of the agreement demonstrates that the participating countries remain committed to keep their markets open for trade and investment under a stable and predictable environment despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
The entry-into-force of RCEP was highly anticipated particularly by stakeholders and the private sector because it is expected to generate much-needed trade and investments. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has also highlighted its importance in his talk before the ASEAN Summit, saying the Agreement will bolster regional economic integration and strengthen supply chain connectivity to boost our post-pandemic economic recovery.
RCEP is a historic FTA because it is the biggest trade agreement in the world, accounting for 30% of the world’s population, 28% of the global GDP, and 28% of the world’s total trade. For this reason, we consider RCEP to be a top priority and we are doubling our efforts towards completing the ratification process within the year. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has ratified the document on 2 September 2021, and this will be taken up soon at Senate for concurrence. After which, the Philippines instrument of ratification will be deposited with the ASEAN secretary-general, marking the country’s completion of the ratification process for the RCEP. The ASEAN and its FTA Partners also remain on track to implement the Agreement by 1 January 2022.
Among the expected benefits of RCEP is an improved market access on goods, services, and investment. In 2020, the group of countries in the partnership represents 51% of PH exports, 68% of PH imports, and 58% of PH investments. A number of our key trading partners are present here today and if the Philippines were not part of this FTA, trade and investments would have been diverted away from our country to the detriment of our local businesses, particularly MSMEs.
For this activity, we have invited experts from the private sector and the academe to give their views on the benefits of the agreement to the Philippines, including its macroeconomic impact. We hope the panel discussion and deliberation will promote a deeper interest on RCEP among the business community, and perhaps shed light on some RCEP-related uncertainties.
This forum will be the beginning of an intensified promotion of RCEP by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in order to raise awareness and disseminate information to stakeholders as we move closer to the target date of implementing this agreement. We will work with our partners in promoting RCEP as we believe that unless the agreement is completely utilized, the Philippines would not be able to reap its benefits.
Lastly, I would like to thank the DTI-Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) for organizing this event and for backstopping all the activities and negotiations in the past 8 years just to pursue the RCEP agreement. Maraming salamat sa BITR at sa DTI team and of course, ang ating mga partner agencies who have been really part of this eight years of negotiation, a lot of meetings took place, so thank you so much to our partner agencies.
May you have a fruitful and stimulating series of discussions.
Maraming salamat po! ♦
Date of Release: 22 September 2021