JAPAN and the United Kingdom have raised concerns over a Philippine Senate bill proposing a ban on the country’s export of raw minerals, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said
In an announcement released on April 11, the WTO said the issue on the Philippines — tagged as “export restrictions on minerals in their raw form” — was one of the four new trade concerns on the agenda of the trade body’s Council of Trade in Goods meeting on April 9 and 10 in Geneva, Switzerland.
It said Japan and the UK “raised concerns regarding a bill in the Senate of the Philippines, which, they said, would impose export restrictions on raw minerals.”
The Department of Trade and Industry has not replied to queries on the details.
Senate approves bill
In a statement on Feb. 3, 2025, the Senate said it approved on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2826, which will prohibit the export of raw minerals similar to what Indonesia put in place in 2020 when it stopped the exportation of nickel ore, and bauxite in 2022.
If signed into law, the ban will take effect after five years to provide the mining operators time to establish processing plants and downstream industries, the statement said.
A report by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in 2024, exports of minerals stood at $7.01 billion, 1.8 percent lower than the $7.1 billion shipped in 2023 and accounted for 9.6 percent of total merchandise goods exports. Export of copper concentrates made up $1.9 billion while gold was at $1.8 billion. Export of nickel stood at $7. 8 million.
But the report showed no specific details about exports of raw minerals to Japan and the UK.
Shift to higher value exports
The Senate said demand for critical minerals like nickel and copper has increased over the past decades as a result of the development of green initiatives, such as the production of electric vehicles. Shifting from merely exporting raw materials to producing higher value products will boost the economy, it added.
The latest data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed nickel ore exports, in terms of volume, declined 12 percent to 25.7 million dry metric tons (dmt) in January to September 2024 from 29.23 million dmt in the same period a year earlier.
Nickel ore output in the Philippines is mainly shipped to China, Indonesia and Japan.
The Philippines is one of the world’s biggest producers of nickel ore, producing 35.14 million metric tons in 2023.
Malaya Business Insight reported on February 12 that the Philippine Nickel Industry Association and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines expressed apprehension over the planned ban, saying that would be detrimental to both the government and stakeholders and discourage additional mining investments in the country.
The report added that mining groups warned that a raw ore export ban will lead to mine closures which would reduce government revenues and economic activities in mining communities.
