Foreign Trade Service Corps
WHO WE ARE
The Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) is composed of Trade Representatives or Commercial Attaches representing the Commercial Posts of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) around the world.
The FTSC promotes the initiatives of the DTI, specifically on trade and investment promotions, as well as trade policy in key overseas markets.
As part of the DTI’s Industry Development and Investment Promotions Group (IPG), the FTSC works internationally to connect Philippine companies and investors with their counterparts abroad.
OUR KEY OFFICIALS:
Jollan Margaret A. Llaneza
OUR MAIN ROLE
The FTSC understands that the lifeblood of international trade relies on credible information and nurtured relations among investors and businesses. We cater to this need by bringing down the physical and cultural borders of doing business across countries. This is facilitated by a wide support network of consulate offices, trade associations, special interest councils, and our government partners in the Philippines and various trading partners worldwide.
OUR TASKS
We work to advance the Philippines’ trade and investment interests through the following:
Trade Promotion. We contribute to increasing and sustaining Philippine exports through business matching, international networking with foreign buyers and trade organizations, and assistance to overseas and local businesses. We spearhead in-store promotions, catalogue shows, and campaigns with foreign businessmen, as well as trade missions to and from the Philippines.
Investment Promotion. Global financial institutions have recognized the Philippines as a key investment destination. We join investment missions to introduce foreign investors to Philippine businessmen who are open to capital infusion. Once potential and prospective investors (including Overseas Filipino Investors) are identified, investment advice and counseling are provided to them.
Commercial Intelligence. Information is critical in enabling businesses and investors make an informed decision on commercial matters. To meet this end, we conduct market research for specific Philippine products, including commercial, industrial, and economic monitoring to benefit the government, industry players, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) all over the Philippines.
Trade Negotiations. We recognize that trade policy provides the institutional setting within which trade and investment relations take place. We are the lead source of international business climate issues affecting trade negotiations and trade policy.
We also actively participate in multilateral trade engagements, within the forum of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to harness trade opportunities for the Philippines’ economic development.
WHERE WE ARE
We are present in 28 key cities in 20 countries across the Asia and the Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, supported by a capital-based Coordinating Office. Our international presence ensures continuous monitoring of Philippine trade and investments globally.
The FTSC’s Coordinating Office in Manila manages the flow of information across the various Philippine Trade and Investment Centers.
As the Coordinating Officer of the Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) at the Department of Trade andIndustry (DTI), Assistant Secretary Celynne Layug plays a pivotal role in driving the Philippines’ trade andinvestment agenda overseas. She oversees the DTI’s network of Philippine Trade and Investment Centers(PTICs), strategically coordinating their programs and activities. Her role focuses on fostering acollaborative environment, building strong synergies and linkages between the PTICs, DTI bureaus, andvarious Philippine-based agencies and entities, both public and private. This collaborative approachensures a unified front in promoting Philippine trade and investment opportunities to the global market.
Celynne has over 20 years of international trade and investment promotion experience. As TradeCommissioner for PTIC – Silicon Valley from 2016-2024, she championed Filipino startups and workedtowards bridging the gap between the Philippines and the Silicon Valley startup and innovationecosystems. Her expertise extends to ASEAN, where she spearheaded the ASEAN MSME DevelopmentSummit, the Slingshot@ASEAN, and the Creative Cities Forum during her tenure as Program Director forthe ASEAN Committee on Business and Investment Promotion (CBIP) for the 2017 Philippines’ ASEANhosting.
As a Commercial Attaché at the Philippine Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2008- 2016, she played a key role in the negotiations for the ratification of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. She likewise addressed complex issues in the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) and promoted Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in global markets, contributing to the working paper series “Fostering the Participation of MSMEs in Regional and Global Markets.”
Celynne holds a Certificate from the Advisory Center on WTO Law (ACWL) from Geneva, Switzerland, on WTO Law and Jurisprudence. She earned her Master’s in Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and graduated from Assumption College with a degree in Economics.
Beyond her professional commitments, Assistant Secretary Layug passionately supports organizations dedicated to advancing scholarship and education as well as advocating for women’s access to economic opportunities.
Ms. Antonio is currently the Coordinating Officer, with the rank of Assistant Secretary, of the Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) attached to the Office of the Secretary. She coordinates the programs and activities of the DTI overseas posts known as Philippine Trade and Investment Centers (PTIC) and establishes synergies and linkages between the PTICs and DTI bureaus, Philippine- based agencies and entities, both public and private, that are actively involved in the promotion of trade and investments.
In one of her Home Office assignments, Ms. Antonio was the Chief of Staff (COS) of the Undersecretary for Industry Promotion of the DTI in Manila from 2013 until 2015. As COS, she ensured strategy alignment and implementation of the Industry Promotion Group and coordinated projects and activities of the various bureaus and agencies reporting to the Undersecretary. Moreover, she was the lead coordinator of several high level, ministerial and presidential visits in Asia, Europe and the Americas during her stint at the Home Office in Manila.
As a Foreign Trade Service Officer, she was posted as Commercial Counsellor in Bangkok (2022- 2023), Berlin (2015-2021), Madrid (2011-2012) and Paris (2005-2011).
Foreign Trade Service Corps
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