By Kris Crismundo (PNA)
MANILA — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement is set to be signed in 2019 after economic ministers from 16 participating countries agreed to hasten negotiations to meet the deadline.
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez represented the Philippines in the RCEP Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on November 12-13.
RCEP is composed of the 10 ASEAN member states and the bloc’s six free trade agreement (FTA) partners — China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
“The RCEP negotiations and discussions have progressed substantially this year and have reached the final stage. The Ministers have resolved to conclude the RCEP in 2019. This is our sixth ministerial meeting for 2018 and is a very important one as we advance the negotiations towards its conclusion by next year,” Lopez said in a statement Tuesday.
RCEP ministers are expected to present the progress made in crafting the deal during the 2nd RCEP Leaders’ Summit on Wednesday, to be attended by President Rodrigo Duterte.
In 2012, the 16 RCEP participating countries began negotiations for a free trade deal. To date, seven out of 18 chapters in the agreement have been ironed-out — Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation; Government Procurement; Institutional Provisions; Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; Standards, Trade Regulations, and Conformity Assessment Procedures; Small and Medium Enterprises; and Economic and Technical Cooperation.
“We have now entered the most critical stage of the negotiations, with a greater focus on Market Access for Goods, Investments, and Services,” Lopez said.
“Each country wants to bring home a good deal for their people. Of course, for the Philippines, we are looking at the overall balance across areas to ensure all Filipinos can enjoy the benefits of this economic partnership,” he added.
During the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN last year, Lopez sought to conclude RCEP negotiations.
However, talks dragged on when some countries disagreed on the target level of goods to be traded duty-free and classifying which products will be included in the free trade.
Once concluded, the RCEP Agreement will be the world’s largest free trade deal.
This is also a vital engagement for the Philippines as 61 percent of the country’s total trade are with the 15 other participating countries. About 52 percent of the country’s export also go to RCEP members, according to the trade department.
