On the fringes of the 38th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila conducted a bilateral meeting with newly installed US Trade Representative, Ambassador Susan Schwab.
During the meeting, Favila conveyed to Schwab the Philippines’ interest to retain the duty-free trade concessions under the US GSP which is set to expire in December.
Favila told Schwab that if the US really considers the Philippines its ally of long-standing, the US should not terminate the GSP concessions.
Philippine trade officials assisting Favila said that in 2004 the country sold $966 million worth of products to the US under the unilaterally granted special access to the US market.
Furthermore, some $319 million worth of Philippine goods was sold to the US under the GSP in the first three months of 2005. The Philippines is the 7th largest beneficiary of the US GSP among the developing countries who are eligible for the scheme.
The officials explained that the US was considering a termination of the GSP.
"This is understandable because of naturally evolving US trade policy and because it’s also a big cost in terms of tariff revenue loss for the US," the officials said.
"But by taking up the matter with Schwab, the Secretary stood up for Philippine workers across a wide spectrum of sectors like the manufacturing sector (for Camelbak personal rehydration containers), farmers, food processors and aquaculturists (dried mangos and carageenan) and SMEs (bags of indigenous material)," the Philippine trade official accompanying Favila said.