PH awaits passage of US ‘fast-track’ trade bill

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan— The passage of the “fast-track” trade bill by the US Senate on Friday bodes well for negotiations for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement that the Philippines wants to be part of.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting here on Sunday that the passage of the US trade bill was a good development, but that the Philippines had to wait for the conclusion and signing of the TPP before it could seek to be part of the second round of negotiations.

The trade bill, which would give US President Barack Obama the authority to speed trade deals, is deemed crucial to accelerate the TPP negotiations.

Obama hailed the Senate’s 62-37 vote on the bill, which would let him complete trade deals that the US Congress could approve or reject, but not change.

Trade deals “done right,” Obama said in a statement, are important to “expanding opportunities for the middle class, leveling the playing field for American workers and establishing rules for the global economy that help [American] businesses grow and hire.”

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Obama’s indispensable ally in passing the bill said it would create “new opportunities for bigger paychecks, better jobs, and a stronger economy.”

House action

The US House of Representatives is expected to debate the trade bill as early as next month.

There, Republican Speaker John Boehner supports the bill. But dozens of majority Republicans currently oppose the measure, either out of ideological reasons or because they are loath to enhance Obama’s authority, especially at their own expense.

States hoping to set up the TPP cannot hold a key meeting until both houses of the US Congress pass the trade bill, Chilean Vice Minister for Trade Andres Rebolledo told Reuters on Sunday.

The TPP, which would cover about 40 percent of the world’s economies from Japan to Chile, is nearing completion after more than five years of often heated negotiations.

Many in Washington see it as a crucial plank in US plans to project American influence in Asia.

Delay for TPP

Rebolledo said other countries wanted to delay a meeting on hammering out the TPP’s final details until Obama’s fast-track powers had also been approved by the US House of Representatives, which could be a trickier task because of opposition to the bill there.

“Many problems have been solved, but there are countries that say they prefer to have all the elements on the table, and that includes TPA,” Rebolledo said, referring to the US trade bill, known as the Trade Promotion Authority.

“The original plan was to have a meeting in Guam … but now we have to fix another date,” he added, regarding a ministerial meeting originally set for May 26 to 28.

The United States, however, is optimistic a deal to set up the TPP will be concluded soon.

“We are very much in the end game,” US Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters here on Sunday.

“Our negotiators are working as we speak, and working through issues, we hope to conclude it soon,” Froman said.

US Congress will not return from a 10-day Memorial Day holiday until June 1.

Domingo said the Philippines remained interested in being part of the TPP, as this deal was deemed the country’s only chance to have a trade agreement with the United States.

The TPP is currently being negotiated among the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Favorable reception

The agreement is expected to lower trade barriers among participating countries and to strengthen patent protection, among other things.

As it is, the Philippines’ planned participation in the TPP has been received favorably by most of the 12 countries that are part of the negotiations.

Local trade officials earlier said they expected to gain a favorable reception of the Philippine bid because of moves to further liberalize the local economy.

Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. earlier said government efforts to amend the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), the liberalization of the Philippine banking sector, and the proposals to ease the restrictions for foreign retail investors wanting to do business in the country were among the “positive signs that we’re opening up the economy and that’s advantageous for us, not only for the TPP, but [also] for our negotiations with the European Union, among other [countries].”–With wire reports