DTI steps up lobbying for garment bill

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) is increasing lobbying for a US bill that could allow duty-free entry for Philippine-made garment exports, as its approval in Washington remains uncertain, Secretary Gregory L. Domingo yesterday said.

The Trade chief said he met with American companies behind big clothing brands during his trip last week to secure their continued support for the measure.

“I met with big brands that we supply. Some of them were very pro-Philippines. Yes [they will continue to lobby for the bill],” Mr. Domingo told reporters, referring to the bill, titled “Save Our Industries Act of 2009.”

Two versions have been filed at both the US House of Representatives and Senate.

If passed, the new law will slash duties on Philippine garment exports that use American textiles and yarns.

“But whether that will be passed by the end of this year is still uncertain,” Mr. Domingo said in Filipino. “We need to push it more.”

The bill is expected to add $1.1 billion to annual export sales that have currently stagnated at $2-2.5 billion since 2006, the Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines had said.

The trade incentive granted to the Philippines should also lure $480 million worth of investments for factories in the first two years of the law’s implementation, the confederation said.

Mr. Domingo’s meeting with the American garment industry comes on top of earlier lobbying efforts. The Trade department’s Los Angeles-based commercial office held a briefing for members of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce in Fernando Valley in late May, according to earlier reports.

In a related development, Mr. Domingo said at the midyear economic briefing in Makati City yesterday that the department will be rolling out “massive information campaign” on the country’s trade pacts to encourage businesses to take advantage of tariff privileges.

The project will be implemented in the next six months, he said without elaborating.

An Asian Development Bank study had found that only a fifth of exporters surveyed in 2008 were using the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.

The Philippines has a bilateral trade deal with Japan, and — through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, Businessworld