THE Philippines’ new upper-middle income status should serve as a platform for deeper trade reform, stronger investor signaling, and wider economic partnerships

All these could be achieved through the country’s ongoing preparatory talks for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to Executive Vice Chairman Chris Nelson of the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP).

Nelson linked the country’s improved income classification with the need to keep pursuing reforms that support competitiveness, resilience, and market expansion: “The Philippines has just joined the upper-middle-class income bracket, and that’s a good move. [To] further support that, we need things like the Open Finance Act to be passed.”

The World Bank said the Philippines’ transition to upper-middle income status, effective July 1, 2026, reflects decades of reform, growth, job creation, and stronger integration into global markets. For the BCCP, however, the milestone also raises the urgency of helping the country sustain momentum through more open trade and stronger institutional follow-through.

Diversification and pressures

FOR Nelson, one of the clearest ways to do that is by diversifying the Philippines’ trading partners through high-standard trade agreements such as CPTPP: “The UK has been a strong supporter of the Philippines joining,” he said, describing the bloc as representing “about 15 percent of worldwide [gross domestic product],” and calling the current preparatory talks “a very important development.”

That message comes at a time when macroeconomic pressures remain a concern. He noted in an interview that inflation is running above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2 percent to 4 percent target, and that growth has dipped below the country’s more familiar 5 percent pace, adding to the importance of improving supply conditions, trade access, and investment confidence.

In that context, he said the Philippines “is very keen to get investments and boost its trade, both exports and imports,” making the push to widen trade links more relevant.

Nelson said the CPTPP should be viewed not just as a tariff arrangement but as part of a broader strategy to strengthen the country’s position in a more uncertain global environment: “It’s also important. What the Philippines is doing is to join more of these trading areas, [and that accession would send] another good signal to investors.”

He also pointed to the country’s existing access to Southeast Asia through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and said a successful CPTPP entry would give companies “even more access.”

Chairship and competition

FOR the chamber, that diversification strategy also reinforces growing United Kingdom- Philippines economic ties. Nelson said bilateral trade reached £3.2 billion by the end of 2025, although the Philippines still ranks only as the UK’s 59th-largest trading partner.

The next step, for him, is to keep highlighting Philippine opportunities more consistently to bring the linkage “from promising to more commercially significant.”

The chamber also sees a strategic opening in the Philippines’ Asean chairship. Nelson has said this leadership role gives the country an opportunity to highlight key sectors and strengthen its investment case, while underscoring its position as both a domestic growth market and a gateway to Southeast Asia.

“The Philippines is a very important market in its own right,” he said, but it also offers “access to Southeast Asia [via] RCEP, and hopefully very shortly to CPTPP.”

Nelson said the partnership’s benefits would likely be felt early in the services sector, where the Philippines already has a competitive base: “The first…that would clearly benefit is the service sector. The Philippines has clearly been leading in…services. Business outsourcing obviously is a key strength.”

At the same time, the BCCP official pointed out that trade diversification must be matched by domestic reform. He cited the “Cybersecurity Act,” “Open Finance Act,” “Digital Payments Act,” and continuing red tape reduction as vital measures to sustain investor confidence and support the country’s rise in the value chain.

“CPTPP will be important, but the decision-making now driving things is how easy it is for me to do business in the Philippines,” he said.

See original article here.