THE free-trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and South Korea will take effect at year end, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Korean Embassy in Manila confirmed in separate statements.
“The Korea-Philippines FTA marks the dawn of a new era in our strategic partnership. The Korean government will actively collaborate with the Philippine government to ensure that the FTA realizes its maximum potential in strengthening economic ties and fostering deeper cooperation… unlock significant opportunities for both countries across key sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and energy, and will pave the way for economic growth,” Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa said.
“It will take effect on Dec. 31… Korea will grant preferential duty-free entry on 11,164 Philippines tariff lines, accounting for $3.18 billion or 87.4 percent of total Korean imports from the Philippines,” Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said.
“One of the major beneficiaries of the FTA is the banana industry, [whose] tariff rate will be reduced from 30 percent to zero in five years… [starting with] 6 percent on December 31, and another 6 percent on January 1, 2025. The FTA will also provide a mechanism for economic cooperation in key areas such as creative industries, innovation, and manufacturing,” Gepty noted.
The FTA was signed on Sept. 7, 2023, at the 43rd Asean Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in a media briefing that details of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are “on the last stages of negotiations.”
“We want to trade a large number of products with each other. The UAE has a big Filipino community,” she added.
Discussions on the CEPA with the UAE started earlier this year.
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