ARISE Plus Philippines

ASEAN Regional Integration Support – Philippines
Trade-Related Technical Assistance

ARISE Plus Philippines is a four-year project funded by the European Union (EU) with a total project cost of EUR 5.8M. It started on 1 March 2021 with the aim to foster inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in the Philippines through improved international trade performance and competitiveness. The project will focus on enabling the Philippines to take advantage of EU market access and the trade privileges granted under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP+) and support the overall EU-Philippines trade relationship trade-related policies.

Specifically, the project aims to facilitate the identification and leveraging of export priorities, support the establishment of a National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) as well as internationally aligned quality management and control systems for exported food products, and strengthen institutional and private sector capacities on trade facilitation for the implementation of national legislation and international trade commitments.

ARISE Plus Philippines is a project of the Government of the Philippines, with the Department of Trade and Industry as lead partner together with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Customs, the Department of Science and Technology, as well as the private sector. It is funded by the European Union with the International Trade Centre (ITC) as the technical agency for the project.

Ultimately, the project is expected to benefit MSMEs in the Philippines through awareness-raising and capacity building on global trade opportunities, food quality management and standards, and improved business environment, policies, and processes through quality infrastructure and trade facilitation reforms.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE:
Foster inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction in the Philippines.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE:
Improve the Philippines’ trade performance and competitiveness.

Expected Results:

1Government and private operators are better able to identify and implement export priorities (including to the EU);
2A National Quality Infrastructure that promotes export competitiveness is in place;
3Quality management and control systems for exported food products are better aligned with international best practices;
4Strengthened trade facilitation capacity to implement the Customs Modernization and Tariffs Act (CMTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement;
5Achievements of the EU-Philippines Partnership are monitored and advertised widely to the Philippine public.

Project Updates as of December 2021

Project implementation commenced with a nine-month Inception Phase from March to November 2021. The DTI and ITC jointly organized an Inception Mission in April 2021 to present, review and validate proposed project activities and work plans with beneficiary agencies and project partners. The description of activities, including the work plan for Year 1, have been proactively adjusted, following inputs from the relevant public and private stakeholders. The description of activities and the work plan for Year 1 were finalized and approved by the Project Steering Committee (PSC) in July 2021.

A number of technical assistance activities were carried out during the project’s Inception Phase in line with the project work plan. An export potential assessment (EPA) was conducted to determine the export products that the project will support. A draft EU GSP+ Business Guide was also developed to orient prospective exporters on the processes and requirements of exporting to the EU market. The project has also developed a customized manual on export management coaching that will be used to train exporters in the selected priority sectors. Trade and market intelligence workshops were also conducted to help government agencies and exporters identify export opportunities. The project also conducted an entrepreneurship ecosystem mapping and launched the Youth Entrepreneurs (Ye!) Boost Accelerator program to support the development of Philippine startups.

A review of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) bill and its ancillary laws has been started in collaboration with relevant trade regulatory government agencies and the institutions mandated to carry out the various functions comprising the NQI, including standards development, accreditation, and metrology. Related to this, the first draft of guides entitled “Quality Handbook for Philippine SMEs” and “Export Quality Management” was also already completed, and a survey and assessment of Philippine conformity assessment bodies (CAB) was also conducted.

The project also conducted training on EU food safety and quality regulations and standards for government agencies, the food industry, and relevant sector associations. The training aims to build the capacity of government regulators and concerned food industry stakeholders about key theoretical principles of the EU regulations on food hygiene and food safety and official controls regulations and import control requirements.

Under the project’s component on trade facilitation, a workshop to support the development of the Philippine Trade Facilitation Committee’s Operational Plan was conducted. Studies on the development of an integrated risk management system, enhancement of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program, and identification of e-commerce tax regime have also been initiated.

To promote the EU-Philippines partnership, the project has also already produced two feature stories of Philippine MSME exporters to the EU, which aim to encourage Filipino companies to explore business opportunities in the EU and get maximum benefits from the GSP+ preferential market access.

Foreign-Assisted Projects

ARISE Plus Philippines

Project Updates as of December 2021