Busan, Republic of Korea
25 November 2019

The Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines, Mr. Ramon M. Lopez, and the Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea, Ms. Yoo Myung-hee, having noted the progress of the Philippines-Korea Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “PH-KR FTA”) negotiations and also having agreed to accelerate the negotiations on 25 November 2019 in Busan on the sidelines of the Philippines-Korea Summit, have affirmed the following:

1. The Ministers reiterated the importance of the PH-KR FTA and acknowledged that the PH-KR FTA would serve as a platform for expanding trade and maximizing the potential of the economic relationship between the two countries.

2. The Ministers shared the view that the PH-KR FTA should be mutually beneficial between the Philippines and Korea and build upon the multilateral and regional agreements being implemented where the two countries are Parties.

3. The Ministers welcomed that there was an agreement on an Early Achievement Package on Market Access for Goods of November 2019 between the two countries and the substantial progress of the text-based negotiations of the PH-KR FTA Chapters. Moving forward and in keeping with the principle of single undertaking, this Package will be improved through consideration of additional tariff lines and/or other mechanisms that will further facilitate trade and investments and will be incorporated when finalizing the PH-KR FTA. Based on this progress, the Ministers reaffirmed their strong commitment to conclude the PH-KR FTA negotiations within the first half of 2020.

Date of Release: 26 November 2019