The ASEAN Economic
Integration (AEC) offers immense business opportunities that both the
government and the private sector must exploit to fully benefit from its
advantages.
This was underscored in a
regional forum on the ASEAN Economic Community organized by the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office 9 with the
participation of state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies
(PIDS) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional office in
Zamboanga City.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow
Erlinda Medalla stressed the need to do more to take advantage of the
opportunities from AEC.
The AEC does not only reduce
tariffs but also promote trade facilitation. It commits the country to
implement reforms on customs modernizations and establishment of a national
single window and an ASEAN Single Window, she said.
“National single window is a
single submission and accelerated processing of applications of licenses,
permits, and other authorizations required prior to undertaking a trade
transaction, while the ASEAN Single Window is a regional initiative that
integrates the national single windows of ASEAN countries,” Medalla said.
Ms. Medalla has been pushing
for the implementation of a national single window to speed up data processing
and cargo clearance procedures. “This would have positive impact on the cost of
doing business, not just for large industries, but more importantly for micro,
small, and medium enterprises.”
She added that the country
needs to step up in educating and informing the public about the benefits of
the coming integration. “There is a need for greater information and
education campaign to help small and medium enterprises get linked to the
supply chain and receive support from all sectors. An agro-industry roadmap
would also be a great help,” she said.
DTI Assistant Secretary for
Industry Development and Trade Policy Perry Rodolfo said that in 2010, duties
for 98.63 percent of Philippine products are already at zero percent. “As of
2010, all duties have been eliminated for agricultural and industrial products
except for live swine, live chicken, meat of swine, meat of chicken, cassava,
sweet potatoes, maize, rice, and sugar,” he said.
Senen Perlada, Director of
Export Marketing Bureau of DTI, said vast trading opportunities will come with
the integration. “We should not limit our markets only to 100 million Filipinos
considering that ASEAN has a combined GDP of US$ 2.4 trillion as of 2013. About
67 million households in the ASEAN are now part of the consuming class,” he
said.
Mr. Perlada cited as an
example a firm in General Santos City that shifted from exporting tuna to
frozen smoked salmon. The firm imports zero-tariff salmon from New Zealand and
then processes it forexport to free trade agreement (FTA) partners.
Another example is Universal
Robina’s C2 Green Tea. C2 is now one of the largest in the Vietnamese bottled
green tea market, Mr. Perlada disclosed.
“We should also take
advantage of the Halal market,” he added. There is an advantage in food,
logistics, and banking, he said.
“The Philippines has to
engage in free trade agreements to maintain its competitiveness and promote
cross-border complementation.” Mr. Perlada emphasized that it is necessary to
maximize the benefits made available by FTAs to our exporters.
Improving the quality of
infrastructure in the Philippines was also a key topic in the forum. According
to PIDS Senior Research Fellow Adoracion Navarro, the Philippines is the third
lowest in overall quality of infrastructure in the ASEAN region-based on the Global
Competitiveness Report 2013-2014.
Critical investments in
airport infrastructure facilities and air navigation system are needed to
address congestion in airport terminals, Ms. Navarro said. “NAIA 1 served 7.5
million passengers in 2012, but its capacity is only 5.5 million passengers.” She
emphasized that it is necessary to boost infrastructure spending to five
percent of GDP by 2016. (PIDS)
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