May 4, 2022
Canada's Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng and the Philippines' Secretary of Trade and Industry, Ramon Lopez, witnessed on Monday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Canada and the Philippines to establish a Joint Economic Commission (JEC).
During the virtual ceremony, Minister Ng emphasized the importance of the JEC as another step in deepening trade relations between Canada and the Philippines, and building stronger economic linkages in the Indo-Pacific.
The JEC will allow for the participation of stakeholders to help ensure that the interests of businesses and workers, especially SMEs and underrepresented groups, are promoted.
The new mechanism builds on the momentum created by the recent launch of trade negotiations between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which the Philippines is a member, and is another important milestone in the deepening of Canada's partnerships with dynamic economies across the Indo-Pacific.
In 2021, Canada-Philippines bilateral merchandise trade totalled $2.7 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Canadian merchandise exports to the Philippines were valued at $1.3 billion ($899.4 million in 2020), while imports from the Philippines amounted to $1.4 billion ($1.2 billion in 2020).