Politics in Command: The Case of the US Proposal for an FTA with the Philippines (Free Trade Agreement‪)‬

Introduction On 11 March 2002 Senator Richard Lugar presented to the United States Congress Senate Bill 2004. The bill authorizes the American President to negotiate and conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Republic of the Philippines. Washington's offer of an FTA to Manila has very strong political-strategic undertones. (1) It should be noted that Washington's choice of a bilateral negotiating partner is based on several factors ranging from the open trade policy of the partner country, hemispheric political grounds (as in the case of Central America), global strategy (as in the proposed negotiations in the Middle East), and to support for the wider US foreign policy objectives (as in the cases of the Israel, Jordan, and Australia). The Philippines is not a major trading partner of the United States. However, an FTA with the Philippines will have important strategic and foreign policy implications for the Bush Administration's current war on terror and for the revitalized security relations with Manila.