EXPORTERS said they are banking on the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act and free trade agreements (FTAs) to serve as export growth drivers this year.
“Our exports of goods and services may only reach $110 billion this year,” Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said at a general membership meeting on Tuesday.
The Philexport projection is below the $113.42-billion target set in the Philippine Development Plan and the $163.6-billion target set in the Philippine Export Development Plan.
“In addition to the insufficient budget for export promotion, we will continue to face key domestic and external risks this year,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.
These risks include weather disturbances, extreme natural disasters, an acute and protracted global economic slowdown in major economies, ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflicts, trade wars, and protectionist trade policies, especially in the US, he added.
He called the CREATE MORE Act and the proposed FTA with the European Union (EU) as potential silver linings.
“The CREATE MORE Act is expected to effectively position the Philippines as a key investment destination,” he said.
“An FTA between the Philippines and the EU is likewise on track for completion next year, with significant progress made during last month’s second round of talks,” he added.
He said that the FTA will not only enhance market access for goods, services, and investment, but also address emerging trade areas such as critical growth, materials, climate change, environmental sustainability, labor, and governance.
“The EU currently accounts for 11% of Philippine exports and 6% of its imports. In terms of investments, the EU is one of our largest sources, with approved investment of $13.4 billion in 2023,” he added.
He said that the group is also looking at the reauthorization of the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which had eliminated duties on 5,000 tariff lines until it expired on Dec. 31, 2020.
“We were the fifth-largest beneficiary of the US GSP, with about $1.6 billion in duty-free exports entering the US that year,” he said.
“The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is gauging interest from the second Trump administration in an FTA, while seeking reauthorization of the GSP, and the establishment of a critical minerals agreement,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile