PH economic czar pitches trade, assistance deals with US

US TRADE MISSION. Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual (from left), US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go during a press conference at Solaire Resort in Parañaque City on Monday (March 11, 2024). Raimondo is leading the US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines. (PNA photo by Kris M. Crismundo)

MANILA – A Philippine economic official said the government has pitched to the United States the possible forging and renewal of trade and assistance deals to facilitate Philippine exports to the United States market.

In a briefing in Parañaque City on Monday, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said they raised the suggestion to United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo during their meeting earlier in the day.

“(We’re) working with the United States government to possibly forge and/or renew several trade and assistance agreements,” he said.

Go said one of these agreements is the re-authorization of the US Generalized System of Preference (GSP), which expired on Dec. 31, 2020.

The US GSP is a trade preference program that provides zero duty for 3,500 tariff lines from the Philippines. This is also vital as US is the top export destination of Philippine goods.

The reauthorization of the US GSP is in the hands of the US Congress.

Go said every time the government signs with its counterparts, the deal has a timeline, which “is a normal course of an agreement.”

“So we’re bringing it to their attention that we have a request to them to look at the renewal of these agreements,” the Chief Executive’s economic czar said.

Go said the Philippines also pitched assistance to Philippine garment manufacturers to help them access the US mart.

The Philippines has been requesting the US government to include garments and shoes in the tariff privileges and Go said Raimondo committed to “look into it”.

In a separate interview, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual told reporters that during his meeting with Raimondo at the Malacanang Palace early Monday, he asked the US government to help resolve some trade issues, including the detained apparel and shrimp paste shipments from the Philippines to the US.

“There is a law in the US that bans garments that make use of cotton produced from a certain area in China,” Pascual said pertaining to the region of Xinjiang, which has labor issues.

“The cotton used of our apparel companies does not come from China, but from Brazil, Turkey, and US itself…The apparels that were held up should have not been detained,” he said.

Pascual also raised the current situation of Philippine electronics companies that are unable to bid on US government contracts due to a requirement in the US Trade Agreements Act.

According to DTI, bilateral trade between the US and the Philippines in 2023 alone reached USD20.5 billion, bulk of which is accounted for by exports at USD12 billion while imports amounted to around USD8.5 billion.

US is also the fourth largest source of foreign direct investments (FDIs) for the Philippines, with the January to November 2023 figure at about USD110 million.