Rules of Origin (ROO) set the criteria in determining the nationality of a product and where a product was made. The importance of ROO has increased in the past years as more countries engage in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and begun treating goods differently according to where the product was...

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are known to enhance trade through reduction or elimination of barriers, such as tariffs on imported goods. The difference between the preferential tariff rate under an FTA and the most-favored-nation (MFN) rate can be significant enough to encourage trade under an...

This study assessed the likely economic, distributional and fisheries resource impacts of a potential free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and EU on the fisheries sector of the former. The study used secondary data from institutional sources and results and findings of past...

One of the objectives of the evolving ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is to promote free investment flows and freer capital flows. By deepening economic integration among them, ASEAN Member Countries can establish a region-wide production base that will attract more foreign direct investment and...

In drawing up the negotiating stance of the Philippines in light of the Philippine-European Union, it is important to articulate its offensive and defensive interests. Indications of the offensive and defensive interests can be gleaned from standard measures of competitiveness as well of...

Free trade agreements (FTAs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs), as a national policy, have proliferated in the recent decades as countries perceived trade agreements to effectively reduce trade barriers, thus helping expand market access, protect local markets, and enhance efficiency and...

This paper develops a modality of liberalization for APEC, based on a sectoral level, as an alternative to the politically-sensitive Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). This model, originally developed by Wonnacott (1994), argues for the liberalization of sectors on an MFN basis, where...

The formation of free trade agreements (FTAs) has been set in motion worldwide and its conclusion does not appear imminent in the near future. In the face of such developments, the Philippines is hard pressed to formulate a more rational FTA policy framework to deal with not just external, but...