Marcos sees South Korea FTA ratification this year

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expects the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and South Korea to be ratified this year.

In an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper Chairman and Publisher Chang Dae-Whan in Malacañang on Thursday, Marcos said the FTA could give Philippine products reduced tariff rates in the South Korean market.

However, the President said that South Korea's National Assembly was yet to ratify the FTA signed between the two countries.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Photo from PCO

«I think so. I think we will get it done. I think we will get it ratified… it's important to us,» Marcos said.

«I think one of the lessons we learned during the pandemic, and now after the pandemic is how important trade is, not just to be wealthy, but to be, to have the things that you need, that your people need. So, that's always the key for us and no country succeeded by cutting itself off,» he added.

Citing the Philippines' importance and business opportunities, Marcos said other countries partnering with the Philippines «treat us [as] a very, very important part of all that they do.»

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He also said the Philippines wanted a separate future agreement with South Korea to encourage the East Asian country to allow some of the country's products to have duty-free access to South Korean consumers.

«We are negotiating a separate future agreement with the Republic of Korea is to encourage them to, perhaps take some, to allow some of our products to be included in the reduced tariff products,» Marcos said.

«And also we hope that we can negotiate with Korea, with South Korea better terms and we get on [the] Asean-Republic of Korea FTA,» he added, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The President cited tropical fruits like avocados that South Korea included on its list of products that could have reduced tariff rates, anticipating more Philippine products would be included on the list.

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«But this is natural, this is not, I think all the other Asean countries have the same thinking. So, there are many areas, the semiconductor, the automotive parts, that's one area. Fruits, we're already exporting great many fruits to