American businessmen have urged the Philippines to accede to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) to reap the benefits of increased foreign trade and expanded trade under an efficient customs rules and regulations regime.

In a statement, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines cited countries such as Pakistan, India and two ASEAN countries Malaysia and Vietnam that have benefited from their accession to the RKC.

“We believe RKC accession guarantees consistent customs rules and regulations that are important in attracting foreign investment to the Philippines,” said the AmCham statement.

AmCham noted that the United States Council for international business predicts that countries that fail to keep pace with world-class standards for customs administrations, such as those promulgated by the World Customs Organization and the World Trade Organization will find it increasingly difficult to attract new business, trade and foreign investment, as business cannot afford high logistics costs imposed by customs inefficiencies.

The business chamber cited two ASEAN countries Malaysia and Vietnam, which both acceded in 2008.

In the 2008 edition of the World Bank survey on trading across barriers, Malaysia ranked 29th while the Philippines ranked far lower at 58th. Improvements in the FDI inflow in Malaysia and Vietnam were a result of more efficient customs administration.

“We hope the Philippines will be the third ASEAN contracting party to the RKC, to enable it to reap the benefits of customs modernization, not only for foreign investors but also for all Philippine importers and exporters, who are the backbone of the Philippine economy,” AmCham said.

Pakistan, which acceded to the RKC in 2004. Foreign direct investments inflow increased from less than a half billion dollars in the entire decade of 1990-2000 to $5.4 billion in 2009. In 8 years, Pakistan’s RKC accession contributed considerably to increasing FDI.