The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) targets to introduce by the middle of next year a digital platform which will enable exporters to determine whether their products qualify under the relevant rules of origin (ROO) requirements of free trade agreements (FTAs) and generalized system of preferences (GSP).
DTI-Export Marketing Bureau Director Bianca Pearl Sykimte bared this following the launch this week of a portal promoting the use of FTAs and GSP in the country.
Sykimte said the department is committed to closely working with concerned government agencies and South Korean counterparts on the development of the second component of the Origin Management System (OMS) for the Promotion of FTAs in the Philippines project.
“…There are different product specific rules for each agreement so the platform will be able to provide the information whether which is the best FTA to use so that your product will be qualifying and if your product is not qualifying, it can actually provide suggestions on which raw materials you should replace and source, whether locally or within ASEAN, so that your product will qualify (under relevant ROO requirements),” she said.
Sykimte said they also hope to link the OMS with the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-related process of applying for the product evaluation report (PER) and eventually the certificate of origin.
Meanwhile, exporters are called to avail themselves of the services for free provided by the information portal, https://philippineftas.dti.gov.ph.
“We will put in place (a) dedicated customer support center with respect to all inquiries lodged in the platform. So this does not cover only FTAs with Korea but all our FTAs, including GSPs, with Canada, UK (United Kingdom), EU (European Union) and the US (United States),” Sykimte said.
She said exporters can fully utilize the benefits of trade arrangements if they are well prepared, and navigate and utilize this portal effectively.
“The project’s two-fold approach of improving access to FTA-related information and simplifying ROO compliance will help empower more MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to participate internationally and reap the benefits of these agreements,” Sykimte said.
“We want to make understanding FTAs easy and make exporting using FTAs easier for Philippine businesses,” she added.
Sykimte said the launch of the information portal is one of the components of the OMS for the Promotion of FTAs in the Philippines project being supported by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and implemented through the Korea Trade Network (KTNET) and the DTI-EMB.
KTNET general manager Kang Sung Young said the portal contains five FTA tools which include Harmonized System (HS) code advisor, tariff information, FTA self diagnoses, product specific rules, and origin determination simulator.
Young said the origin determination simulator is a function for pre-simulation of suitability or unsuitability based on the target country, agreement, HS code, and product price.
He added the portal has four main menus –discovering FTAs/GSPs and how these agreements and arrangements can enhance trade opportunities, reduce tariffs, and expand market reach, as well as information on FTAs/GSPs-related activities and DTI’s trade agenda.
