Government not keen on seeking extension of tariff protection for petrochem industry

The Philippines is not too keen on a free trade arrangement with China.

This was indicated by Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II who recently dispatched a Philippine delegation headed by DTI assistant secretary Antonio Buencamino to the senior economic officials meeting in Thailand.

Roxas said he instructed Buencamino to relay the Philippines’s desire for a study to be made on the impact of a possible free trade agreement with China.

The Philippine’s decision on a free trade agreement with China, Roxas said, would depend on the study.

Roxas noted that there are several sectors in which the Philippines directly competes with China. These include the agriculture and basic manufacturing sectors.

China has been trying to entice the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be included in a free trade zone.

China has tried to assure its ASEAN neighbors that it would be willing to go ahead and lower its own tariff to allow the ASEAN member nations to gain early access to its market.

China’s market is considered the biggest in the whole world. On the other hand, China’s production is also considered the most cost-effective considering its cheap labor and ample natural resources.

Even now, cheap China-made goods offer stiff competition to locally produced goods.