Cagayan should take advantage of the zero-tariff trade that started with China this year, Jack Enrile who is running for congress in the Cagayan’s first district, said Monday.
“We are at the forefront of this window of opportunity with the full establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) last January 1,” said Enrile, economic and developlment consultant to his father, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, and the province of Cagayan.
“We have the geographic edge, being in the northernmost point of the country, and thus the nearest to China,” said the young Enrile who is seeking a congressional seat in Cagayan’s 1st District.
“Once fully implemented, the CAFTA will see more than 7,000 zero-tariff commodities traded between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China,” he said. “While it may also flood our markets with Chinese goods, free trade also means the chance for us in Cagayan Valley to sell to the Chinese mainland.”
“Imagine, it’s one of the world’s largest free trade areas,” Enrile said, adding “we are well positioned, having the Cagayan Special Economic Zone, the country’s emerging power house.”
“We have fiber-optic, wireless global connections; cyber industrial parks and business process call centers multimillion-peso resorts and theme parks – all just a short hop from the world-class Port Irene international freight and shipping yard in Aparri and an international airport in Lallo town, with connections to China,” Enrile said.
“For these reasons alone, not to say of our agricultural produce, we can easily tap into the market for 3 billion Chinese consumers, and for that matter other ASEAN economies,” he said.
ASEAN groups the Philippines, Indonesian, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
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