RCEP to attract investors, BPO firms – House Speaker
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine House of Representatives has expressed its support for the Senate’s full ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal.
House Speaker Martin Romouladez said that the immediate ratification of the RCEP Agreement will bolster investments and will allow greater participation in the areas of digital services and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
“By immediately ratifying the RCEP Agreement, the Philippines can sooner benefit and take the advantages of this mega-trade deal that could attract more foreign investors, create more job opportunities, and curb the unemployment and poverty rates in the country,” said Romualdez.
In November 2021, the Philippines signed the RCEP Agreement, a trade agreement that covers trade areas for goods, services and investments, sustainable growth, and business environment involving the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its five other free trade agreement (FTA) partners, namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Republic of Korea.
“Due to various FTAs that the Philippines entered into in the Asia-Pacific Region, there is overlapping of the numerous bilateral FTAs involving different sectors, with varying levels of commitment for tariff reduction and conflicting technical trade rules,” the resolution read.
The RCEP is expected to address this debacle.
Romualdez, who is among the authors of House Resolution No. 728 which supports the RCEP’s ratification, said that the benefits that the RCEP Agreement will bring to the Philippines “far outweigh the risk, as it will promote greater openness, create a more business-friendly environment, encourage closer integration of economies, and provide a more stable and predictable rules-based system of trade.”
Designed as the framework for economic and trade cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region, the RCEP integrates and optimizes the economic and trade rules, including the changing digital landscape that affects intellectual property rights, trade facilitation measures, electronic commerce, and cross-border trade.
