Trade and Industry Cesar V. Purisima said this after attending the recent Informal ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
It could be noted that Singapore has forged a bilateral free trade deal with the US while Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are also moving in that direction.
"But when we discussed among ourselves, we believe the parties should go back to the negotiating table. ASEAN in general is better off under a multilateral structure," Purisima said.
Bilateral free trade pacts have been pursued by other countries following the collapsed of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Cancun last year.
Purisima said that whether going back to the WTO negotiating table may happen this year or next year is not yet certain.
"There was a mixed view on ASEAN here but the general consensus is that 2004 might not be dead yet," he said.
Purisima also reported that he met with EU Commissioner Pascal Lamy, who joined the AEM on the second day.
He reported that Lamy that he still believes that WTO negotiations can still push through this year.
"He believes that USTR Representative Robert Zoelick’s letter is a signal on the part of the U.S. willingness to restart negotiations," Purisima quoted Lamy.
Although the U.S. seemed uncooperative to back down on its earlier stance for export subsidies particularly for their agricultural sector.
On the part of the E.U., Lamy said that they would like to resume the WTO negotiations.
He said the Philippines is in agreement with its ASEAN neighbors to pursue for continued agricultural trade concessions.
During the informal AEM, the ministers also agreed to utilize the 11 priority sectors earlier identified for integration as a springboard for the creation of a single market as envisioned in the ASEAN Economic Community by 2020.
"The AEM decided that sector-specific roadmaps will be formulated into legally-binding commitments in the form of appropriate agreements," he said.
The Philippines, being the country coordinator for electronics, may need to set the policy environment to accelerate regional integration in the sector. This could be in various forms such as liberal tariff and investment regime for electronics and semiconductors, improved customs clearance and harmonized product standards, among others.
