Imee Marcos pushes for TWG on RCEP

Senator Imee Marcos on Monday called for the establishment of a technical working group to produce a committee report on the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on Monday called on representatives from various stakeholders to submit position papers on the proposed trade agreement, and join the TWG.

Among the stakeholders set to be part of the TWG are representatives from the local agriculture sector, the Departments of Agriculture (DA) and Trade and Industry (DTI), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Tariff Commission, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who last month said he is optimistic that the Senate would ratify the RCEP by December, volunteered the DTI in leading the TWG together with the committee secretariat.

“Let’s make sure that all sectors are reflected and not merely the DTI, who of course its job it is to be gung ho and open about all trade agreements,” Marcos said.

“As much as we would like to support you, there are local sectors that need to be addressed and in many cases, compensated,” she added.

The RCEP is a free trade agreement first floated in August 2012, covering members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.

READ: The Philippines and RCEP negotiations

During the hearing, Marcos questioned Cabinet sectaries on the safeguards to ensure that local stakeholders will not be burdened by the inflows of goods from trade partners.

“I suppose what I’m looking for… is some assurance that we will avoid the freefall in agriculture, MSMEs, and other sectors that occurred in 1994 and thereafter,” she said.

“We cannot allow that to repeat itself so what are the safeguards? What are these remedies? What are these plans and programs that will reinforce the sectors that will necessarily be hard hit?” she added.

Marcos was referring to the World Trade Organization’s General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, which was said to impact the local agriculture sector among others.

For his part, Pascual said that RCEP will boost competitiveness of local players as they will be forced to compete with goods sourced from other countries.

“To get the best out of people, you have to subject them to competition. If we accept that principle, then we should be prepared to mobilize our resources, mobilize both financial and human resources, to strengthen our sector,” he said. —KG, GMA Integrated News