The use of English language for cross-border communications is important in many areas of trade ranging from tourism to trade in financial services. English will increase the capacity of people to communicate and exchange ideas and goods across borders. However, the increasing involvement in...

Amidst the rising trend in free trade agreements (FTAs) and growing international production sharing, rules of origin (ROO) has been beset with difficult recurring issues. First is the cost of ROO administration. Second, ROO as part of FTAs could generate new barriers to trade, thus taking with...

The Philippines has been one among the few that still adheres to the home consumption valuation (HCV), a system that, according to many importers, results to overvaluation. This article assesses the validity of the claim through analysis of HCV’s impact on the level of protection structure. It...

This study takes off from an earlier inquiry on the effects of Home Consumption Value (HCV) valuation. It is intended to assist policymakers in examining the requirements for an effective implementation of the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade Valuation Code (GVC). This study identifies...

This paper is part of the Philippine study for the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, a project of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). A milestone in ASEAN economic cooperation is the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the...

How are the ASEAN+1 free trade agreements facilitating the flow of goods in the supply chain in East Asia? This chapter looks at the experience of the Philippine automotive and electronic sectors–-two sectors that are well integrated into the supply network in East Asia. Using firm...

The discussions on the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) have evolved in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings since 2004 when the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) presented a study suggesting a possible integration of the Asia-Pacific region. The most recent...

With rising globalization and advances in technology, the interrelationship between trade and the environment has increasingly become a pressing issue across the globe. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion, mainly by looking at some theoretical underpinnings, learning from some...

Recognition of the adverse effects of protectionist policies has lead to the Philippine government to undertake major trade reforms in the 1980s and 1990s having efficiency and competitiveness as objectives. This study analyzes the impact of Philippine trade and investment policies on economic...

In moving toward the East Asian vision of a community, a rational, enabling regime of rules of origin (ROOs) that would encourage deeper economic integration and shared prosperity should be established. This means a set of ROOs that is trade facilitating even as it attempts to prevent trade...