FOREIGN business groups said they “look forward” to working with the Philippine government to improve the Philippines’s investment climate in light of the “new opportunities” that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership provides.
With RCEP being touted as the largest trade bloc in the world, the seven chambers said the Philippines’s inclusion in the trade deal “further expands the network of foreign markets accessible to Philippine exports.” Meanwhile, the Makati Business Club , through its executive director Francisco Alcuaz Jr. said in a statement that it is “confident” RCEP membership “will help accelerate inclusive growth and economic recovery, and most importantly, job creation.”
The European chamber said ratification of RCEP sends a “positive message that the Philippines upholds and values a rules-based trading system.” “2021/2022 export data to the 10 RCEP member countries showed that the Philippines exported in 2022 US$315 million worth of apparel, leather goods, textile and footwear,” CONWEP said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that exports to RCEP countries in 2022 posted 8-percent growth compared to 2021 export performance.
Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said the impact of the regional trade deal now rests on “how fast our business people will react.”