S. Korea trade deal seen producing import tariff savings of up to 30%

PHILIPPINE IMPORTS from South Korea across more than 600 tariff lines are expected to realize tariff savings of up to 30% once the Philippines-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) takes effect, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

DTI Export Marketing Bureau Director Bianca Pearl R. Sykimte added that the deal features substantial Philippine concessions on South Korean motor vehicle parts.

“Korean exports for these products amount to more than $300 million,” Ms. Sykimte said on the sidelines of the Philippines-Korea Business Forum at the Manila Hotel on Monday.

“Importers of these products will benefit from additional tariff savings of about 3%-30% compared to what were provided under the ASEAN-Korea FTA and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” she added.

She said that the impending bilateral FTA will also benefit exporters of banana, canned pineapple and pineapple juice, avocado, guava, papaya, okra, tuna, oysters, blue crab, and octopus, among others.

“The tariffs of these products under the ASEAN-Korea FTA and RCEP are 3%-27% higher compared to those negotiated under our bilateral FTA,” she said.

Aside from market access, she said that the FTA will also allow for economic and technical cooperation between the two countries to strengthen trade, investment, and economic relations.

“Both sides agreed to cooperate in various areas, including industry development, innovation, creative and cultural industries, intellectual property standards, and e-commerce, among others,” she said.

She said that the cooperation may be in the form of information exchange, sharing of best practices, human resource development, exchange of experts, trade and investment promotion, technical assistance, and transfer of technology.

Meanwhile, she said that the Export Development Council is still working on the recalibration of the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP).

“We hope that it will come out before the end of the year … because we are still discussing internally the things we need to consider,” she said.

“But still, we are optimistic that we will meet the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target,” she added.

The PEDP projects merchandise and services exports for 2024 of $143.4 billion, much higher than the $107-billion export target under the PDP.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that goods exports in the first seven months amounted to $42.66 billion, a 2.6% increase from a year earlier. — Justine Irish D. Tabile