FTA with the U.S. unlikely soon — DTI official

NEW YORK CITY — A Department of Trade and Industry official said Friday (US time) that a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the United States is unlikely to be forged soon.

In a briefing at the Philippine consulate in New York, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the current political dynamics in the US are the reason a bilateral FTA is being held in abeyance.

The US is set to hold its presidential elections in November, which will pit former rivals, incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Rodolfo said the situation is not unique to the Philippines.

He said the Philippine government remains optimistic about an FTA between the two countries and is “aggressively pushing” for it.

Waiting for turn

“We continue to include this part (FTA) of our agenda with the US government to inform them that we still want it. So, as soon as they can, we will be first in line,” he told reporters here who are participating in the Friends, Partners, Allies Program for media practitioners.

He added: “The Philippine government continues to aggressively push for a bilateral free trade agreement with the United States.”

Earlier this month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. renewed the country’s interest in a bilateral FTA with the US to achieve an economic transformation and generate more jobs.

“The benefits for concluding an FTA, together with a critical minerals agreement between both our countries, will be transformative and will create new jobs, strengthen supply chains, establish new businesses, and upskill our workforce,” Marcos said.

He made the call during the Philippine-US Business Forum in Washington, D.C., days after the historic Philippines-US-Japan trilateral leaders’ summit.

Unlike the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which the Philippines is also pursuing with the US, the FTA is said to be a “more permanent mechanism.”

The US was the Philippines’ fifth largest source of investments in 2022, totaling P5.06 billion.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier said the reauthorization of the GSP, which granted duty-free privileges to more than 3,500 exports from the Philippines, is expected to happen this year.