Auto importers seek ‘level playing field’

Published by rudy Date posted on November 26, 2010

Vehicle importers want a “level playing field” vis-à-vis domestic assemblers that have already availed of many perks and government assistance, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) said on Thursday. In a press conference, Maria Fe Perez-Agudo, AVID president, said the Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Development Program (CMVDP) or Executive Order (EO) 877-A is a “midnight EO” that should be reviewed.

Perez-Agudo said the Board of Investments (BOI), which is tasked to draft the implementing rules of the CMVDP, should consult AVID—whose members contributed 15 percent of industry sales so far this year.

“The challenge is for DTI [Department of Trade and Industry], BOI and private sector to sit down and look at opportunities both for assemblers and importers,” she said.

The BOI had said that the CMVDP was crafted to boost the competitiveness of auto manufacturing in the country.

But AVID is also seeking representation in the Motor Vehicle Industry Council that would be formed under the CMVDP.

“Policy development should be for all players, not just manufacturers,” said Perez-Agudo, who is also Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) president and chief executive officer.

While the vehicle importation business generates many jobs, it has yet to enjoy the tax perks auto assemblers have been benefiting from over the past four decades, she said.

Despite the generous state support, local assemblers remain uncompetitive and have been left behind by peers in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, Perez-Agudo said.

“How can [manufacturers] ask for more [incentives] when they enjoyed a lot? What else do they need?” she said.

Most of the models being imported by Japanese-led auto companies are slapped zero or minimal tariff under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement or the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, as such vehicles are sourced from within Southeast Asia and Japan.

AVID members import brands from South Korea, China and Europe, imports from which are slapped higher tariffs.

AVID said its members are willing to undergo audit by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is investigating reports of under valuation—a form of technical smuggling—of some car imports.

Sales of imported vehicles—comprising about 55 percent of industry sales—now outnumber locally assembled ones, as even assemblers such as the Philippine units of Japanese automakers Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu and Nissan are already net importers. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA REPORTER, Manila Times

July 2025

Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.

Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar.  Reject Military!

#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

July


3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 Ju
ly – International Plastic Bag Free Day
 
5 July –
World Youth Skills Day 
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day 
17 July – World Day for
International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons 


Monthly Observances:

Schools Safety Month

Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month

Weekly Observances:

Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week

 

Daily Observances:

First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines

Categories

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.