MANILA, Philippines – BABANGGITIN ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas ang interest nito na buhayin ang mga usapan ukol sa free trade agreement (FTA) sa Estados Unidos sa oras na matuloy ang unang pagpupulong nina Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at US President Donald Trump sa Abril o sa Mayo.
Sa isang panayam sinabi ni Philippine Ambassador to US Jose Manuel Romualdez na mayroong ‘good chance’ na itulak ng US government ang bilateral FTAs sa mga bansa sa ilalim ng Trump administration.
“I think with the new administration of President Trump, there is a chance — lahat naman ito is, and it should always be that way, kailangan it’s a fair type of trade between countries,” ang sinabi ni Romualdez.
“And right now, I think that we don’t have any major issue as far as trade is concerned, because ang surplus sa atin, in our favor, is not anything as big as other countries,” aniya pa rin.
Winika ni Romualdez na napag-usapan na ng Maynila at Washington, D.C. ang posibilidad na bilateral FTA sa unang Trump administration, subalit nahinto ang naturang pag-uusap dahil sa nakitaan ng kawalan ng interest ang administrasyong Biden na pirmahan ang bagong kinatigan na ‘trade deals.’
“Both leaders have already indicated interest to meet in person when they spoke before the inauguration of Trump,” ang sinabi ni Romualdez.
“We all know that the White House is very busy right now with all of these things that are happening, especially in the European area, so we just have to wait. But we’ve been in communication with the White House on what will be on the agenda and the potential schedule,” litaniya nito.
Nauna na ng sinabi Romualdez na ipararating nito ang interest ng Pilipinas na umangkat ng liquefied natural gas mula Alaska matapos na ihayag ng US government na tinitingnan nito na buhayin ang long-delayed USD44 billion gas pipeline project.
Bago pa ang miting, kumpiyansa naman si Romualdez na mananatiling malakas at matibay ang relasyon ng Pilipinas at Estados Unidos sa ilalim ng bagong lider ng Amerika, sabay sabing noon pang unang Trump administration, ang alyansa ay inilarawan bilang “ironclad.”
Para naman sa Maynila, ipagpapatuloy naman ng administrasyong Marcos ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa Estados Unidos habamg pinaiigting ang pagsisikap na palakasin ang ‘economy at defense’ ng bansa.
“(The Philippine-US alliance) is ironclad but we have to always be ready — there’s only one thing that’s permanent in this world, and that’s change,” ang sinabi ni Romualdez.
“More than ever, we should learn from what we’re experiencing today, that we have to be ready to defend ourselves in the future. And that’s what’s President Marcos is doing right now in beefing up our armed forces — that’s why economic and defense are his priority,” ang tinuran pa rin ni Romualdez. Kris Jose
