THE Philippines is open to reducing tariffs on some products from the United States as part of its bid to secure zero or lower reciprocal tariffs from the US, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.
“Not for all products, but we have identified a set of products,” Recto said in a recent informal press chat.
The Philippines is seeking to ease the impact of a proposed 20 percent US tariff on Philippine exports.
Recto said lowering tariffs on some US goods is not likely to have a huge impact on the country.
“But we’ve calculated that and gave our input to (Special Assistant to the President on Investment and Economic Affairs) Secretary Deck (Go) on what we can negotiate. All of that has been computed. And it’s safe to say that we’re okay in terms of losses,” he said.
“I think we already have a great plan for the negotiation. We want to reduce whatever duties they impose on our products.”
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the United States accounted for the highest export value amounting to US$1.115 billion, or 15.3 percent of the country’s total exports in May this year.
Recto said the Philippines is also pushing for a possible free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and other countries.
“We prefer that. We want to have an FTA. Not only with the US but with Europe and many other countries. More trade should be done. We have to expand our markets. Get more investments in manufacturing so that we can export more,” he said. / PNA