The Philippines can lose an average of P2.9 billion ($58 million) annually from foregone tariff revenues if the Philippines accedes to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, according to agricultural industry stakeholders.
Leonardo Montemayor, chairman of the Federation of Free Farmers, said the data was lifted from a study released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
RCEP is expected to be participated in by Asean economies as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Montemayor said additional support and funding are needed for agriculture to become competitive under RCEP.
“RCEP is an all -or- nothing proposition… you cannot change even a single word (in the agreement). We do not place any deadline for the deferment as we are yet to identify the threats to different sectors and if there are available safety nets and subsidies to cushion the impact to the sectors should we enter the RCEP. Assuming we already identified the threats, we also need to ensure there is available infrastructure and budget. We cannot just jump in without any preparation,” Montemayor said.
Czar Joseph Castillo, program coordinator of the Labor Education and Research Network, said tbased on preliminary results of a study commissioned by Sentro ng mga Progresibo at Nagkakaisang Manggagawa, tariff adjustments under RCEP will reduce domestic output by 0.076 percent.
Castillo said apart from the agriculture sector, other industries expected to be negatively affected include electrical equipment; computer, electronic and optical products; metals; machinery and equipment; transport equipment; ferrous metals; metal products; and wearing apparel, among others.
