Philippines sees delay in renewal of US GSP

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is experiencing a delay in the renewal of the United States Generalized System of Preference (US-GSP) program amid issues besetting the US Congress and the push for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

“We are working with our trade attache in Washington DC, together with other ASEAN members like Thailand and Vietnam who are also in the same situation as we are for the renewal of the GSP,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said at a press conference organized by the US-Philippines Society yesterday.

“There has been some movement on that direction but unfortunately because of a lot of developments, especially on the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which basically touches on a lot of the trade issues surrounding the ASEAN, there is a delay on specific GSPs that we’re all working on. That’s why we are working together with our partners in pushing for the GSP,” he said.

The Philippines’ eligibility for the US GSP program expired on Dec. 31, 2020.

The program allowed duty-free treatment for products coming from beneficiary countries like the Philippines.

Romualdez said another reason for the delay in the renewal of the GSP is that the Philippines had to go through the US Congress, which has been dealing with a speakership issue.

“So we have to restart our talks with them,” Romualdez said.

Meanwhile, asked about the prospects of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the US, Romualdez explained that the US government is taking a wider view as it looks at the ASEAN region as a whole.

“The concentration now is to have more economic activity with the entire ASEAN region,” Romualdez said.

For his part, US-Philippines Society co-chair John Negroponte explained that there is a unique opportunity for both the Philippines and the United States for expanded economic activity as they both emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as shift to new governments.

“I would say that we’re at a moment of a really unique opportunity for expanded economic activity between the two countries. And that’s, to some extent, what the society has been focusing on,” he said.

Negroponte noted the need to identify new opportunities for future investments in the Philippines.

“We have a couple of new members that have come that are working on some very interesting projects. And I think our conclusion from meetings in the last couple of days and our meetings with President Marcos yesterday is that this is a very auspicious time for the United States relations, both politically and economically,” he said.

In November, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual expressed hope for the reauthorization of the US GSP, pointing out that the Philippines has consistently been a top beneficiary of the GSP and a top supplier of affordable imports for American manufacturers and consumers.

Apart from the renewal of the GSP, Pascual earlier expressed hope for a FTA with the United States.