PHILIPPINE Exporters Con-federation, Inc. (Philexport) has again called on the Senate to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Philexport president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. has repeatedly rallied behind the ratification of the regional trade deal, noting that of over 2,000 active members of the organization, nearly 1,000 are exporting to RCEP economies.
“The opening and expansion of market access to the member economies will create positive ripple effects which can result in employment and livelihood, much needed especially now as we try to recover from and thrive again in this pandemic,” said Ortiz-Luis in a statement released by Philexport on Friday.
The Philippine Senate has yet to ratify the regional trade deal. According to the umbrella organization of Philippine exporters, this has caused dismay among relevant agencies and private sector stakeholders as they warned that further delay will slow the growth momentum and cast doubts about the country’s openness to trade and investment.
Meanwhile, in a recent webinar, Robin Flint, First Secretary of the Australian Embassy in Cambodia, highlighted the chapter on customs procedures and trade facilitation in the regional trade pact, noting that it is among the most important chapters in RCEP as it commits customs agencies to release goods within a specific timeframe.
Flint said RCEP’s Chapter 4 on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (CPTF) is a crucial one designed to provide a level playing field for all members to enforce cross-border trade.
According to the international trade official, the CPTF, which consists of 21 articles, is important because “you need very strong rules around how customs agencies will implement a free- trade agreement such as RCEP.”
“Good rules will facilitate trade, build business confidence and facilitate cross-border transaction in goods,” added Flint.
During the virtual event, Flint said that the CPTF chapter has several key provisions, including those on pre-arrival processing, in which RCEP members commit to allow trade and customs documentation to be submitted prior to the goods arriving.
“This form of advanced lodgments of documentation greatly reduces the amount of time the goods undergo customs clearances,” said the trade official.
Another important provision, Flint said, is on the advanced rulings, which commits member countries to allow for customs rulings to be provided to traders upon request for the tariff classification of their goods.
Traders, whether importers or exporters, can apply to a customs administration for advanced ruling to get an assessment about how their goods will be treated—whether it’s originating under RCEP, what the customs value might be—so that they can calculate the taxes and fees.
Flint said the provision on advance ruling brings greater certainty as to how a customs administration will treat traders’ products while reducing discrepancies at the border and making the whole process of importing and exporting much quicker.
The international trade official added that the provisions touching on the release of goods, which call on members to maintain procedures for clearing goods from customs within specific timeframes, are equally important.
For general goods, customs is committed to release goods 48 hours after arrival as long as all necessary requirements have been met. Meanwhile, for perishable goods, RCEP makes commitments for customs administrations to “release goods from customs within six hours after arrival.”
Flint noted that the inclusion of specific timeframes “goes above and beyond” the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement commitments, making the whole shipment process quicker, reducing costs for the business community, and lowering costs for customs administrations as well.
This gives traders of food and agricultural products greater certainty that their products will be released swiftly after arrival, allowing them to plan appropriately, reduce potential costs from storage using bonded warehousing, and manage risks from spoilage due to detention at customs, he explained.
In June, Ortiz-Luis noted that exporters experienced a shipping crisis as there was a shortage of ships, scheduling problems and high freight costs.
RCEP is a free-trade agreement among Asean countries and their trading partners namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Touted as the world’s largest trade pack, RCEP represents 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
The regional trade pact came into force on January 1, 2022.