Is the incumbent Philippine political regime pro-growth via free trade?
Clues to this answer from the Japan Times, (bold emphasis mine)
A senior Philippine trade official said Wednesday his government has to study the U.S.-backed trans-Pacific free-trade initiative carefully before joining it because his country, like Japan, has sensitive sectors like agriculture to protect.
"We are also just exploring the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) and studying it, because the TPP agreement is quite an ambitious agreement," Undersecretary for Trade Adrian Cristobal said in an interview on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in Yokohama…
"So these are some of the real constraints that the Philippines has, and other countries have similar constraints," Cristobal said. "We have to look at our own legal and regulatory structure, even our own constitution . . . as part of our own evaluation. From there we need to do some stocktaking also of our own sensitive products, our own industries. Of course we have to consult our own people, business sectors and economic sectors of what their views are."
Blunt interpretation or euphemism from the political lingo: We have to look at the interests of our cronies first.
Is it a wonder why the Philippine economy continues to lag?
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