The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a forward-looking trade agreement between member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners (AFPs) namely Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand (i.e., non-ASEAN...

A general review of the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA or the Agreement) was originally scheduled in December 2011. Accordingly, it was deemed that an assessment on how the Agreement affected the Philippine economy after three years of implementation would be helpful not...

Barriers to trade and investment stifle economic expansion. The impacts are most profound when they are applied to the services sector given its role as "the glue that binds all sectors together". This report examines the various regulatory requirements and legal obstacles that limit or...

An efficient regulatory framework is a pre-requisite for developing a services market that supports competitiveness and offers opportunities for export diversification. Creating such a framework requires a comprehensive understanding of the laws, regulations, and practices affecting trade and...

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and services are necessary to spur economic growth especially in the digital age. The comparative advantage enjoyed by the Philippines in specific ICT and ICT-enabled services indicate the availability of competitive ICT to support...

This paper reviews the Philippines' participation in services trade agreements to date at the multilateral (WTO GATS), regional (ASEAN and dialogue partners), and bilateral levels (PJEPA and PH-EFTA FTA). It also discusses the government's institutional arrangements for trade in services...