Kuala Lumpur – Union of the SouthOn East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China An advanced free trade agreement was signed on Tuesday Which aims to deepen regional integration We are facing increasing protectionism from America.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang took a dig at the US at the ASEAN-China summit after the signing, saying closer economic cooperation rather than confrontation could help navigate global uncertainties amid coercion and bullying.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. ASEAN leaders, including Marcos, Jr., signed the third amendment to the agreement, which was first signed in 2002 and went into effect in 2010.
According to a statement from Mr Marcos, “The ACFTA (ASEAN-China Free Trade Area) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol seeks to expand ASEAN-China cooperation into new and emerging areas, including digital and green economies, supply-chain resilience, competition and consumer protection, as well as support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).”Fsnow.
The free trade agreement (FTA) reduces tariffs on goods and promotes the flow of services and investment into the region which covers a combined market of more than two billion people.
Chinese trade with the 11-member bloc reached $771 billion last year, making up ASEAN According to ASE, it is its largest trading partner.AN data.
Beijing seeks to deepen its engagement with the region, whose combined gross domestic product (GDP) is $3.8 trillion, as it seeks to strengthen ties with US President Donald J. Wants to reduce the impact of heavy import tariffs imposed globally by Trump's administration.
China and the ASEAN Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership are also members of the ASEAN Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest trade bloc, covering nearly a third of the global population and about 30% of global GDP.
Mr Trump slapped varying tariff levels on almost all of his trading partners. He imposed a 30% tariff on sugar exports to the US to protect his country's industries.
The US has imposed 19% tariffs on many goods from the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia from August 7.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) previously said the new protocol aims to make the regional trade framework “more modern, more comprehensive and better aligned with today's global realities.”
The upgraded deal expands the scope of the original ACFTA – which focused on goods, services and investment – to include new areas such as fair competition, consumer protection, digital transformation, green growth and supply-chain connectivity.
It also strengthens mechanisms to support MSMEs, helping them integrate more effectively into regional value chains.
According to the DFA, the upgrade will “open up new opportunities for high-impact collaboration” in key areas that are vital to the long-term resilience and sustainability of the region.
It also offers a framework for promoting inclusive and broad-based growth in member economies.
The original ASEAN-China FTA, launched in 2010, covers trade in goods, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, technical rules, sanitary measures and investment cooperation.
The latest amendment reflects both sides' efforts to future-proof their trade relationship amid change Global economic conditions.
ASEAN studies lecturer at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Josue Rafael J. Cortez said ACFTA 3.0 serves as Beijing's strategic move to strengthen its regional influence amid intensifying US efforts to establish its own economic foothold in Southeast Asia through tariff-based policies.
He said that although the Philippines can use the advanced treaty to limited advantage, its complex political and security relations with China reduce this advantage.
“As the Philippines seeks to broaden its trading relationships with both traditional and new markets, the promise of this agreement is a challenge for Washington that it must overcome by proving that the alliance we share goes beyond issues of mutual benefit in the political and security sphere. And as treaty partners, we will show the same commitment to the geo-economic challenges of our time,” he said via Facebook Messenger. Are.” , Chloe Marie A Hufana
