RCEP Market

How to leverage RCEP to enhance Viet Nam’s exports to the Philippines

Solutions to take advantage of specific RCEP commitments

The market access commitments under RCEP create numerous opportunities for Vietnamese exporters entering the Philippine market. Therefore, enterprises should carefully study the relevant provisions of RCEP in order to maximize the benefits of the Agreement:

Review the tariff commitments that the Philippines grants to Viet Nam in the Common Tariff Schedule (Annex I) of the RCEP Agreement.

However, it should be noted that the tariff commitments in the RCEP schedule represent the minimum level of market opening. In practice, the Philippines may reduce or eliminate tariffs earlier than the committed schedule. Therefore, to determine the exact preferential tariff rate applied to specific Vietnamese products, enterprises should verify the actual RCEP tariff rates applied by the Philippines annually. Tariff information can be accessed through the following sources:

- Philippine Tariff Finder (Tariff Commission):
https://finder.tariffcommission.gov.ph/

- Market Access Map (MacMap) of the International Trade Centre (ITC):
https://www.macmap.org/

- Tariff Analysis Online (TAO) of the WTO:
https://tao.wto.org/

- Understand the rules of origin (ROO) and origin certification procedures in Chapter 3 – Rules of Origin of the RCEP Agreement to qualify for preferential tariffs. In Viet Nam, the rules of origin under RCEP have been incorporated into domestic regulations through Circular No. 05/2022/TT-BCT dated 18 February 2022 (as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 32/2022/TT-BCT), which provides detailed regulations on the rules of origin under RCEP.

Enterprises should carefully study these regulations and related guidelines to ensure full compliance with origin requirements and certification procedures in order to benefit from RCEP preferential tariffs when exporting to the Philippines.

- Examine other relevant provisions of the Agreement, such as Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (Chapter 4), Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures – SPS (Chapter 5), Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures – TBT (Chapter 6), and Trade Remedies (Chapter 7). This will help enterprises both comply with RCEP provisions and effectively exercise their rights while protecting their legitimate interests

Technical and market-related solutions

To export to the Philippine market, Vietnamese products must also address many issues that RCEP does not directly regulate or significantly alter, particularly:

  • Philippine import regulations, including food safety standards, labeling requirements, and other technical regulations;
  • Consumer demand and preferences in the Philippines;
  • Consumption trends and distribution channels in the Philippine market.

Therefore, to effectively access the Philippine market, Vietnamese enterprises should:

  • Closely monitor and regularly update information on Philippine import regulations and ensure full compliance with relevant procedures and requirements;
  • Conduct in-depth market research, particularly in niche markets, to understand Filipino consumer preferences and demand, thereby improving product quality, packaging, and design to better match market needs;
  • Develop and promote Vietnamese brands in the Philippine market;
  • Explore distribution mechanisms and market entry channels, particularly e-commerce platforms, which are becoming increasingly popular and represent a major shopping trend among Filipino consumers.

Measures to enhance competitiveness

Strengthening competitiveness is a sustainable strategy for Vietnamese products to succeed both in domestic and export markets. To achieve this, enterprises should focus on the following key measures:

- Invest in technological innovation and increase the technological content in production and processing, through joint ventures or partnerships with domestic and international research institutions and enterprises, as well as upgrading or acquiring modern production technologies and processes;

- Invest in human resources, including structured training programs, capacity building for key managerial staff, technical engineers, and market research specialists;

- Improve product quality, design, and packaging to better meet the preferences and consumption patterns of Filipino consumers;

- Strengthen branding and marketing activities, promoting Vietnamese products to Philippine importers and consumers through various channels such as trade fairs, exhibitions, and social media marketing, while also emphasizing after-sales services and warranty policies to attract and retain Filipino consumers.

- Seeking information and support from government agencies, trade promotion organizations, and industry associations

To enhance the effective utilization of RCEP, government agencies, trade promotion organizations, and industry associations are expected to continue implementing various initiatives to support enterprises in expanding trade with RCEP member countries, including the Philippines.

Vietnamese exporting enterprises can take advantage of these support activities to obtain information and advisory services on RCEP commitments, receive assistance in connecting with Philippine importers, and promote Vietnamese products to Filipino consumers.

Source: Center for WTO and International Trade - VCCI

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