Who we are

We are the advocacy and research think-tank of Philippine private sector and business organizations for trade policy making, competitiveness and investments.

In the course of the past few years, economic globalization has been the primary driver behind the intensive economic and trade liberalization that is being undertaken on a global scale. Indeed, many countries have veered away from the protectionist policies that were dominating the global economy and pursued strategies that opened up their respective economies and trading regimes.

With countries, including the Philippines, adapting liberalization as their overriding policy, there was a significant increase in the number of trade agreements being pursued, whether in a multilateral, regional, or bilateral setting. The rise in the number of agreements being undertaken meant that trade agreements opened up endless market opportunities for stakeholders but could also impact negatively on several industries/ sectors.

Recognizing this reality, the Philippine business community established the Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade (U-ACT) in August 2007 to enhance its role and participation in the trade policy process to ensure that trade liberalization would be advantageous and lead to the competitiveness of the domestic industries and sectors. Through the U-ACT, private sector continues to reinforce its position as a major driver of economic and trade development through its notable participation as an institutional partner of the Government.