CANADA will continue to pursue negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines, according to the head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CCCP).
The prospect of forging a free-trade pact has been placed on the backburner following leadership changes in Canada and the Philippines. But now that the dust has settled, CCCP President Julian Payne said there could be hope that FTA talks could be revived.
“[The FTA] is still being discussed; it’s certainly being discussed in Canada, where they’re consulting stakeholders internally,” Payne said.
“I think the new government in the Philippines has its preoccupations at the moment, and the Canadian government is talking about the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement]. It’s still alive, but I don’t think it’s progressing at the moment,” he added.
Even with the TPP now being scrutinized by the Canadian government, Payne said negotiations for an FTA with developing countries like the Philippines could still continue.
“They could both proceed. I believe personally in free trade, so both could continue,” he said.
While FTA negotiations remain stalled, Manila and Ottawa continue to hold discussions to renew and update the Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (Fipa).
Canada forges a Fipa with various countries to protect and promote foreign investments through legally binding rights and obligations. It lays down the rights and obligations of signatories with respect to the treatment of foreign investments.
The Fipa is aimed at protecting trade and investments from domestic policies that may “endanger” foreign investments. Under the Fipa between the Philippines and Canada, for instance, neither country can impose a local-content level as a requirement to the establishment or acquisition of an investment.
Canada has already tagged the Philippines as a “priority market” in its Global Markets Action Plan—Ottawa’s global strategy to expand trade and investment relations.
Last year the Department of Trade and Industry said it has set its sights on renewing the Fipa with Canada, which has not been updated since it came into force in 1996.