PHL goods get duty-free access to US till 2017

The Philippines will be able to export many of its products to the United States duty-free until 2017 under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme.

US President Barack Obama signed on June 29 the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which allowed beneficiary developing countries, such as the Philippines, to enjoy GSP privileges until 2017.

The law also provides for a retroactive reimbursement of all duties paid by US importers of Philippine goods, as the previous GSP program expired in July 2013.

“The renewal of the GSP will enhance our exporters’ competitiveness. I’m confident that we’ll be able to see double-digit growth in exports to the US,” Export Management Bureau (EMB) Director Senen M. Perlada told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview.

The GSP is a program rolled out by the US in 1976 to promote economic growth in the developing world. It provides preferential duty-free treatment for more than 5,000 products from designated beneficiary countries and least-developed beneficiary developing countries.

The US is the second-largest export market of the Philippines, accounting for 14.1 percent of the country’s exports in 2014.

DTI officials expressed confidence that the inclusion of 20 to 30 specific categories of travel goods could boost shipments to the US.

“We already have travel goods makers here, but we can again become competitive and convince other brand owners to locate here to export,” Perlada said.

He said the Philippines is also targeting to ship out more processed agricultural products, including marine products, to the US. Perlada said, however, that “challenges,” such as the impact of the El Niño, must be immediately addressed so that the Philippines could immediately benefit from the trade scheme. –Catherine Pillas, Businessmirror