A glint of hope for the passage of SAVE Act

ASIDE from being the Director of the DTI Public Relations Office, I also head the Garments and Textile Industry Development Office (GTIDO) as its Executive Director. When I assumed office this year, it was right smack in the middle of a long-drawn out advocacy campaign for the SAVE Act which began in 2008. It is a US market access issue which is a significant component of the Garments Transformation Plan considering that more than 80 percent of our garments and textile exports go to the US. Truly, it is disheartening that while the Philippines remains America’s strongest ally in Asia, no bilateral trade agreement exists between us. And so news that the White House has certified urgent to Capitol Hill some trade pacts offered a glint of hope that maybe this time, we just might have that opportunity. The US National Journal writes:

After months of negotiations and political fights, President Obama on Monday submitted to Congress the ratifying language for the long-stalled trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, paving the way for final ratification before the end of the month.

Obama called on lawmakers to approve the trade pacts “without delay.”

“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” Obama said in a statement. “We’ve worked hard to strengthen these agreements to get the best possible deal for American workers and businesses, and I call on Congress to pass them without delay, along with the bipartisan agreement on Trade Adjustment Assistance that will help workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition.”

This is the window that we have been waiting for. In case you did not know, the SAVE Act cannot be tackled as a stand-alone bill. It has to ride on the crest of a trade agenda. This is definitely Divine Providence as this development was not present in the last three years. In November last year, we were hoping that a trade agenda would be taken up during the lameduck session of Congress but it never happened.

Much has been spent by the Philippine government lobbying for the SAVE Act. Many high-level delegations have been sent to convince the lawmakers to pass it. This piece of news definitely brings us much closer to our objective and that’s just me being optimistic. We hope that the good tidings it brings will be wide enough to cover the SAVE Act which is seen as a win-win solution to both Philippine garments manufacturers and US textile companies. Once approved, the industry projects an increase of 100,000 thousand jobs on its first year of implementation and 400,000 by 2015. Volume of exports is already projected to increase to $2 billion on the first year and, hopefully, by the end of President Aquino’s term, it will be back to its original figures during its glory days. I hope this does not remain a distant dream.

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While waiting for SAVE Act to be passed, parallel work is being done by the GTIDO to lay the groundwork for a social compliance program similar to the ILO-Better Works Program. This is one program that the industry needs with or without the SAVE Act. GTIDO has commissioned a consultant to conduct a mapping of the garments and textile industry to once and for all have an accurate database of who are still alive. The mapping will include all manufacturers, exporters, knitters and those in the supply chain down the line. Actually, this should have been the first thing that was done by those before me but it would be useless to pass the blame.

Once we have a complete picture, an accreditation mechanism will be put in place which basically filters out those companies that are socially compliant. This is only the start of more work to be done.

Incidentally, the Bangladesh government I hear has drafted the Apparel Board Act similar to our deactivated Garments and Textile Exports Board. Strangely, Philippine garments export receipts have been posting growth even without government intervention. Imagine, what it could be! –Thelma Dumpit-Murillo, Manila Times