Amcham Philippines hopeful of progress on bilateral FTA
John Forbes, senior adviser at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said that AmCham is hopeful that progress on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries will make headway this year. The Department of Trade and Industry also said that initial talks to determine the scope of the FTA are expected to be advanced. Last year, Washington and Manila announced that they had put an end to recurring problematic issues such as customs valuations, intellectual property rights, market access for Philippine agricultural products into the US, and meeting international standards for automotive safety and food hygiene in their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
