Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has suggested exploring the potential for the Philippines to establish a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK).
This proposal was raised during Recto’s recent meeting with UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the Philippines Richard Graham and UK Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
“Secretary Recto broached the possibility for the country to enter into a free trade agreement with the UK, including through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),” the DOF said in a Facebook post.
CPTPP is a free trade agreement between 11 other countries in the Indo-Pacific: Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The combined economies of the 11 member nations account for 13.4 percent of the global gross domestic product, totaling around $13.5 trillion, making it as one of the largest free-trade areas in the world based on size.
In Southeast Asia, the UK’s primary trade and investment ties are with Singapore and Malaysia.
Trade in goods and services between the Manila and London reached £3.0 billion in the four quarters leading up to the end of September last year, 19 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
— Chino S. Leyco
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
