Santos thumbs down bilateral FTA with US

20 March, 2005

TRADE Secretary Juan B. Santos said it is premature to enter into a bilateral free trade agreement with the United Sates because it will tie the country down to a single market and that the private sector is not interested.

Santos said the Philippines' reliance on trade with the US has gone down because of growing trade with Japan, Greater China and Asean.

Santos added he has not seen enough interest from the private sector for an FTA.

Read the full article.