WITH only a few days away from the inauguration of United States President-elect Joe Biden, business leaders in Cebu foresee a positive development especially in the economic trade in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Felix Taguiam said the prospects for the world’s two biggest economies, the US and China, hang in the balance amid trade tensions between the two global powerhouses.
“We hope that Biden will continue to find a win-win solution in which the two countries can collaborate. This will surely bring good news to the Asia-Pacific region in the sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing, manpower requirements and many more,” he said.
He said with the Covid-19 vaccines in the works, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“And for us here, either it be tourism, information and technology-business process management centers and all kinds of businesses, we will all be benefitted,” he said.
Steven Yu, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said industry leaders expect the US to continue to sustain its relationship and partnership with the Philippines because of the country’s strategic location, geography and demographics.
“The direction of the Biden administration which is to increase fiscal stimulus and spending, intensify vaccination and other recovery-positive support will greatly improve and aid in the global economic recovery. The Philippines, being part of this interconnected global financial system and economy, will be benefited in the process. As such, we expect that the Biden presidency will be positive to the Philippines,” he said.
However, Yu said that while the US is a strong ally of the country in terms of overall trade and investments, there are stronger contributors and partners like China and other Asian countries.
“We expect the markets to be stable upon the assumption of Biden and veer away from the roller coaster volatility of the Trump years. However, to give credit to US President Donald Trump, he did some really good monumental changes. The markets and economy were good during his time,” he said.
From a business perspective, Yu said they expect things to get better, coming from the bottom.
Biden is set to be inaugurated at the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan 21, 2021, 1:00 am, Philippine time. (JOB)