'Game-changing' trade pact ratified in Manila

Ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, will inject fresh momentum into the Philippines' post-pandemic recovery and long-term development, with expected increases in investments and exports, analysts say.

The Philippines is the last of the 15 member countries to ratify the RCEP, which took effect on Jan 1 last year. After senators passed a resolution on the pact on Feb 21, Arsenio Balisacan, secretary of socioeconomic planning, thanked lawmakers for "taking this bold and game-changing move", noting that the RCEP will provide "another engine "to grow the nation's economy and make it part of "rapidly rising Asia".

The RCEP aims to establish a unified market by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers. The signatories are the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — together with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.