Arroyo, Bush agree it’s time for RP-US free trade agreement

HANOI — After years of study on its merits, President Arroyo and US President George W. Bush agreed yesterday that now is the best time for the Philippines and the US to forge a free trade agreement (FTA), officials said here yesterday.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio said Mrs. Arroyo and Bush agreed during a bilateral meeting that formal negotiations for an FTA between the two allies must begin as soon as possible following due diligence from both sides.

"It (FTA proposals) has been there for some time. They’ve been doing their homework so they (Mrs. Arroyo and Bush) think now is the propitious time to embark on negotiations," Basilio told reporters.

The two presidents’ 10-minute "pull-aside" meeting took place at around 9:50 a.m. on the sidelines of the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit here.

Also present at the meeting were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and other members of the delegation of both sides.

"He (Mr. Bush) was very happy with the way we have been handling things in ASEAN... in all the areas of cooperation that we have with US, he was very pleased with and he is prepared to consider a FTA with the Philippines," Basilio said. The Philippines currently chairs the 10-member ASEAN.

"I want it (FTA). I want it not only for me but also for future presidents," Bunye quoted Bush as saying.

Favila and Romulo said the Philippines has prepared a package of proposals for the FTA that includes a "phasing in" or the gradual implementation of the agreement to enable both sides to go over contentious issues.

Favila said the US president "motioned to Secretary Rice to tell US Trade Representative Susan (Schwab)" to continue talks with her Filipino counterpart on the FTA after Mrs. Arroyo told him that the two officials have been negotiating on the issue for some time.

He said both countries have made extensive studies that validated views that an FTA would help increase economic growth.

He pointed out that the US has FTAs with other countries in the ASEAN such as Singapore.

Basilio said a Philippine-US FTA would help improve market access of either countries’ products and lower transaction costs that would make industries more competitive.

"When you export, you generate revenues, put food on the table, generate employment, improve quality of the lives of people," she said.

The US leader, however, mentioned to Mrs. Arroyo that his Trade Promotion Authority, a mechanism to facilitate the approval of trade agreements in the US Congress, would end next year but there are efforts to continue it, Bunye said.

Favila said the Philippine government in the past had sent several missions to Washington to discuss the FTA, particularly on the proposal for a gradual implementation.

US Sen. Richard Lugar presented a measure in March 2002, authorizing the US president to negotiate and conclude an FTA with the Philippines.

The bill was filed before Bush announced his Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative, which will pave the way for US to pursue a free trade agreement with individual ASEAN countries. — Paolo Romero