The Philippines and Korea will launch a free trade agreement (FTA) information portal and origin management system in the fourth quarter of 2024 to streamline export processes and enhance the competitiveness of Philippine products in FTA markets.
Portal developer InterCommerce Network Services Inc. president and chief executive Francis Lopez said the portal would allow exporters to easily access information and determine the best target market and applicable FTA for their products.
“There may be two or more FTAs that would be applicable, and the exporters would be able to check which one would be more advantageous for the exporter to use in terms of FTA,” he said during the recent general membership meeting of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PhilExport).
The portal is seen to simplify navigating the complexities of multiple FTAs and identifies the most advantageous option. Exporters can login, input their product and then determine the best country to target and which FTA to utilize.
A key component of the portal is the origin management system, targeted for launch in late 2025.
The system will automate processes for product evaluation reports (PERs) by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and significantly reduce the processing time for electronic certificates of origin. PER processing currently takes 20 days.
The portal taps into Korea’s efficient system, where origin determination takes 20 minutes and certificate issuance takes just 5 minutes.
Exporters will be able to integrate their systems with the origin management system for seamless data exchange and further expedite the process.
The bilateral FTA portal project stemmed from a pre-feasibility study conducted in 2021 with the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of Philippine exports in FTA markets, reducing time and costs associated with preparing and submitting PERs and certificates of origin and facilitating efficient origin determination.
The Philippines-Korea project leverages the success of Korea’s FTA Plus system, which already serves over 32,000 exporters and generates millions of origin determinations and certificates.
The Philippines aims to significantly improve its export processes and benefit from the advantages of its various FTAs by adopting similar automation and streamlining procedures.
The collaboration is expected to boost Philippine export competitiveness and contribute to the overall growth of the country’s trade with Korea and other FTA partners.