Reviving garment sector still a priority

THE TRADE department will continue lobbying efforts for a bill filed in the US Congress that proposes to eliminate tariffs on Philippine-made garments, despite the change of leadership at the state agency, an official statement yesterday read.

The new Trade Secretary, Gregory L. Domingo, highlighted the importance of the policy for the local industry in a statement yesterday.

This comes despite his earlier pronouncements that the department will just let declining industries go their way and will merely “manage their demise.”

He had, however, vowed support for export-oriented industries but did not specify sectors.

The issue was clarified yesterday when he backed lobbying efforts for the US bill.

“[Save Our Industries Act of 2009] is a bill that would help revitalize our local apparel industries by granting duty-free status to garments and apparels wholly assembled in the Philippines, on the condition that these are US-made textiles, fabrics, yarn and cotton,” the statement quoted Mr. Domingo as saying.

Two versions of the proposed law are currently under committee review at the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

The bill is expected to add $1.1 billion to annual export sales that have currently stagnated at $2 billion-$2.5 billion since 2006, according to local industry estimates. The trade incentive granted to the Philippines is also expected to lure $480 million worth of investments for factories in the first two years of the law’s implementation.

The department went on to cite recent efforts to further drum up support for the bill among American constituents of Filipino descent. Its Los Angeles-based commercial office briefed members of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce in Fernando Valley in late May. The government hopes Filipino communities in the US will write their congressmen to support the bill, ahead of the midterm legislative and gubernatorial elections on Nov. 2.

The government has also assured US legislators it would form an accreditation body for exporters to prevent transshipment to the US of garments made of textiles from other countries. — JADH, Businessworld