Free trade pact changes to help MSMEs – Marcos

THE Philippines has signed the second protocol to the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which is expected to provide better opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

At the Leaders' Plenary Session of the Asean-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, President Marcos said the agreement will improve the access of MSMEs to markets and participation in global value chains, as well as promote the use of e-commerce. Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

«We are pleased to inform you, excellencies, that the Philippines has just recently signed the second protocol to the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement,» he said.

The President said he is confident AANZFTA will continue to respond to the evolving multidimensional challenges in the business environment and complement region-to-region efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience, and the expansion of trade, investment, inclusiveness and sustainable development.

«The Protocol will indeed benefit micro, small, and medium enterprises in as much as it facilitates their participation in international trade by improving their access to markets and participation in the global value chains, as well as promoting the use of e-commerce,» Marcos said.

«With the momentum from the CEO Forum yesterday (Tuesday), and AANZFTA together with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, we are confident that we will usher in even more robust economic cooperation within our region and provide a legal framework for a more prosperous future,» he added.

The AANZFTA is a market of around 711 million people with a combined gross domestic product of $5.9 trillion, based on data from the International Monetary Fund and the World Economic Outlook as of April 2023.

Australia and New Zealand, taken together, are Asean's eighth-largest trading partners.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that Australia and New Zealand ranked 16th and 28th, respectively, when it comes to trade in 2021, with a combined total value of P2.64 billion.

The DTI added that Australia was the country's top