RP seeks expanded textile trade with US

WASHINGTON – Help us help you.

This is the message that the Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines (Congep) is preaching to US legislators at a time when Washington needs to be creating jobs to get the economy out of the doldrums.

With mid-term elections coming up in November and polls showing the economy is the number one issue Congep thinks this is the right moment to press Congress to grant duty-free entry to Philippine apparel products produced from US-made fabrics.

It said this will create and sustain thousands of jobs in the US textile industry and tens of thousands of jobs in the Philippines.

Congep executive director Teresita Jocson-Agon-cillo who flew to Washington from Manila over the weekend plans to visit from 10 to 15 states with the highest number of Filipino Americans to appeal to them to lobby their Senate and House representatives for support.

At issue is the “Save Our Industries Act 2010” filed in the Senate in March by Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Republican Sen. Christopher Bond of Montana.

A corresponding bill was filed last year in the House by Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington state and Republican Brian Bilbray of California.

Essentially the bill seeks duty-free privileges for high-end apparel products wholly assembled in the Philippines from US fabrics.

It also seeks to grant US duty-free treatment to some Philippine exports of “cut and sew” apparel products not produced in the US.

Jocson-Agoncillo is hoping President Benigno Aquino’s planned visit to the White House pushes through sooner rather than later so can hopefully raise the matter with President Barack Obama.

But the visit originally scheduled for late September to coincide with President Aquino’s trip to New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly may be postponed as no official invitation has yet been extended by the State Department.

The US may lose about $40 million if tariff on Philippine apparel is lifted, Romulo Manlapig, commercial counselor at the Philippine embassy in Washington estimated.

But this is “small beer” considering the US stands to boost its textile exports to the Philippines from $13.5 million in 2009 to $250 million by Year 2 of the Act’s passage and to $500 million by Year 5, he said.

Additionally thousands of jobs will be created and US textile manufacturers will have an opportunity to compete in Asia in the higher end fashion market.

For the Philippines it will mean a job recovery of 50,000 in Year 2 increasing to 200,000 in Year 5 plus an estimated $1.32 billion increase in apparel shipments to the US by Year 2 to $3 billion by Year 5.

This is a win-win preferential trading agreement for both sides, Jocson-Agoncillo told reporters here on Tuesday.

While hope springs eternal, realistically neither Jocson-Agoncillo or Manlapig give the bill much of a chance to pass in the 111th Congress because of time constraints.

They are more optimistic of success in the 112th Congress which begins its session starting Jan. 3, 2011.

“Even if we don’t get it done this year at least the issue will be on the radar screens of the legislators next time around,” Manlapig said.  –Jose Katigbak STAR Washington Bureau (The Philippine Star)