NAGKASUNDO ang Filipinas at ang South Korea na pagtibayin ang free trade agreement ng dalawang bansa sa first half ng 2020.
Ito ang ipinahayag ni Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez at ng kanyang South Korean counterpart Minister Yoo Myung-hee makaraang lagdaan ng Trade ministers ang ‘early achievement package’ noong Nobyembre 25 sa sidelines ng ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit sa Busan, South Korea.
“Based on this progress, the Ministers reaffirmed their strong commitment to conclude the PH-KR FTA (Philippines-Korea Free Trade Agreement) negotiations within the first half of 2020,” wika nina Lopez at Yoo sa isang joint statement.
“The ‘early achievement package’ reports the progress of the trade negotiations, including priority products such as banana, garments, and auto parts for the Philippines and pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and auto parts for South Korea,” ayon sa Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Naniniwala ang mga Trade minister na ang ‘early achievement package’ ay lalo pang mapagaganda at isasama sa free trade agreement.
“Moving forward and in keeping with the principle of single undertaking, this Package will be improved through consideration of additional tariff lines and/or other mechanisms that will further facilitate trade and investments and will be incorporated when finalizing the PH-KR FTA,” sabi pa nina Lopez at Yoo.
Sinabi ni Lopez na bagama’t ang free trade negotiations ay hindi natapos ngayong Nobyembre, kapuri-puri na nakamit ng magkabilang panig ang sapat na progreso kapwa sa market access at text-based negotiations sa loob lamang ng anim na buwan.
Para sa Filipinas, ang layunin ay ang mapaghusay ang market access para sa agricultural products tulad ng saging at iba pang tropical fruits, gayundin ang industrial products at iba pang serbisyo.