The Philippines and TPP: Opportunities and Challenges

The Conference, held on 17 March 2016, aimed to increase stakeholders' understanding of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and the Philippines' readiness to participate in it. The Conference provided an overview of the TPP Agreement and focused on six TPP Chapters: Rules of Origin, Cross Border Trade in Services, Investment, Competition Policy, Telecommunications, and Intellectual Property. The TPP Agreement offers opportunities for deepening the Philippines' trade and investment relationships with some of the world's largest economies. It would deter investors from shifting their investments from the Philippines to another TPP party such as Viet Nam. The TPP would also compel the country to take on reforms that would make it more competitive and efficient, driving economic growth and creating jobs that would make Filipinos stay in the country instead of working overseas. However, the Conference recognizes that the TPP Agreement also poses some risks that may impact public welfare. These include the country's overall readiness to comply with TPP obligations, threats to access to cheaper medicines given the TPP intellectual property provisions, and concerns about the adverse effect of TPP on small farmers and industry players. There is a general sense of agreement that the threats should be weighed against the potential losses that the Philippines might incur if it stayed outside the TPP. Joining the TPP requires the Philippines to institute several reforms that would make it compliant with TPP obligations. The speakers presented the results of their gap assessments between these TPP obligations and the country's regulatory environment. The studies show that the Philippines' laws, policies, and experiences are aligned with the key provisions of the TPP on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and competition law. However, there remains a huge gap between TPP obligations on several key areas vis-à-vis the Philippines' regulations. The gap assessments highlighted several areas where the Philippines' regulations are not aligned with TPP obligations. These include the procedures for determining origin status of goods, the arrangements on Rules of Origin procedures, and the scheduling approach in trade in services. The Philippines has experience adopting the Negative List approach, which is different from the Positive List approach used in the TPP. The Conference emphasized the need for regulatory reforms to make the Philippines TPP-Ready. The speakers presented several recommendations for addressing the gaps between the Philippines' regulations and TPP obligations. These include the need for the Philippines to adopt a more comprehensive and transparent approach to determining origin status of goods, to establish a more efficient and effective system for issuing certification of origin, and to adopt a more liberal approach to trade in services. The Conference also highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing the challenges posed by the TPP Agreement. The speakers emphasized the need for the government to engage with the private sector in addressing the gaps between the Philippines' regulations and TPP obligations. They also emphasized the need for the government to provide support to small farmers and industry players who may be affected by the TPP Agreement. In conclusion, the Conference provided a comprehensive overview of the TPP Agreement and its implications for the Philippines. The Conference highlighted the opportunities and challenges posed by the TPP Agreement and emphasized the need for regulatory reforms to make the Philippines TPP-Ready. The Conference also emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing the challenges posed by the TPP Agreement.