THE government eyes to raise P245 billion from a proposal by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to slap additional 5-percent tariff on all imports to help the economy recover from the impact of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a briefing, DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the plan is under review by the inter-agency Committee on Tariff Related Matters as the Department of Finance does not see the need to trigger the proposal just yet
The estimated gain in the across-the-board tariff hike is based on the annual average imports between 2016 and 2018.
Rodolfo said TRM will have to make a cost-benefit analysis of the tariff hike on business and on inflation against the projected revenue.
The additional tariff would raise the cost of imports that would have to be passed on to consumers.
Rodolfo said the TRM will also have to consider the move’s implication to country’s international trade commitments especially that in Asean, duties have been eliminated.
Rodolfo said the DTI’s proposal can be justified since the Philippines did not impose export ban during this pandemic.
He said the move is not protectionist since it covers all products.
Rodolfo added an additional 5-percent tariff is minimal to push inflation.
The plan follows the imposition of an additional 10 percent duty on petroleum products under Executive Order 113 issued early tis month.
The proposal also comes at a time when the country has pending petitions for the imposition of trade remedies on vehicles.
One is a safeguard duty on vehicle imports as sought by automotive workers and the other is the additional tariff also on car imports from Thailand in retaliation to Bangkok’s discriminatory taxes on Philippine cigarettes.
This would make imported cars more expensive at a time when demand is soft.
