More jobs delivered by encouraging Filipino and foreign investors to empower Filipino consumers by providing goods with higher quality, better service, and wider choices through more efficient and competitive retail trade. This was the promise of the Retail Trade Act when it was passed into law two decades ago. Unfortunately, the very law which aimed to liberalize the retail trade sector has become a hindrance to achieving its own stated goals. Due to restrictive provisions in the law, over the last two decades only a small number of foreign retailers have invested in the country.
Efforts are now underway to amend the anachronistic provisions in the Retail Trade Act, with sufficient protections for Filipino MSMEs, to promote productive investment to lower prices for Filipino consumers, create more jobs, assist small manufacturers, and stimulate economic growth. The bill amending the Retail Trade Act has been passed by the House and is in an advanced stage of deliberation in the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.
The fifth installment of AmCham-RESPOND’s Special Reform Legislation Discussion Series on discusses the proposed amendments to the Retail Trade Act. We have invited legislators, government officials, and experts who are actively involved in pursuing this reform to provide an informative discussion on this much needed measure.