RCEP to come into effect for the Philippines on June 2

According to news from the Ministry of Commerce on Apr 12^th, the Philippines has formally submitted the ratification letter of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) with the Secretary-General of ASEAN. According to regulations, RCEP will come into effect for the Philippines on Jun 2nd.

This marks that RCEP will take full effect for the 15 member countries, and the world's largest free trade zone will enter a new stage of full implementation.

China is the Philippines' largest trading partner, largest source of imports and third largest export market. According to customs data, the total import and export value between China and the Philippines reached 585.28 billion yuan in 2022, a cumulative increase of 10.6% over the previous year. Among them, China's exports to the Philippines were 431.93 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.0%, and the imports from the Philippines were 153.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.1%.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, after RCEP comes into effect for the Philippines, in the field of trade in goods, on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the Philippines will add zero-tariff treatment to Chinese automobiles and parts, some plastic products, textiles and clothing, air-conditioning washing machines, etc. After a certain transition period, the tariffs on the above products will be reduced from 3%-30% gradually reduced to zero.