Impacts Of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement On The Philippines’Export Of Agricultural Products And Its Countermeasures

Agriculture is a major contributor to the Philippines economy. Thus, agricultural liberationremains to be the most sensitive issue in trade negotiations not only because it is tied to the food securitypolicies of the country but also because the transformations it being have social implications, mainly interms of adjustment cost. Patterns of rural and urban poverty can largely be traced to the agriculturalpolicies of a country.This study attempts a comprehensive assessment of the challenges faced by the country’sagricultural sector on the export of trade goods under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement(ACFTA) as well as its countermeasures. The objectives of this study are (1) to assess the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement;(2) to identify the negative effects of the ACFTA on the Philippines’export of agricultural products;(3) to determine the countermeasures of these effects;(4) to postulate theimplication of findings in the Philippines. Like any other FTA, ASEAN-China has its winners and losers,its opportunities, benefits and challenges. Success brings with it some problems, which need to behandled rationally and carefully. Since, this study is in fact, virtually pioneering, as far as its topic andscope are concerned, the finding of this study will add to the general existing knowledge and willparticularly be helpful to other researchers interested in this field for further study.