The Philippines stands to double its export receipts if it can corner a share of the US market served by some manufacturing companies now relocating from China as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), in an online public forum late last week, said the Philippines should position for such opportunity presented by the recent turn of events.
China’s shipments to the United States US in 2023 were estimated at $426 billion.
“If only we are able to capture 10 percent of this value, which is probably around $42.6 billion, that’s enough to double (our) exports to the US,” PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said during the panel discussion, “Trump Tariffs 2.0 – Implications for Philippine Manufacturers,” hosted by the Philippine Manufacturing Team on Friday.
The Philippines’ merchandise exports to the US stood at $12 .12 billion in 2024, up 5 percent from $11.55 billion in 2023, equivalent to 16.6 percent of the total shipments valued at $73.21 billion.
PEZA locators contributed 56.8 percent or $42 billion to the country’s total exports valued at $73.62 billion in 2023, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
The benefit of cornering 10 percent of China’s exports to the US cuts across several industries but the biggest winner is the electronics and semiconductor industry, Panga said.
Other sectors that would supposedly benefit are manufacturers of plastic products, agriculture, and chemicals.
The Philippines should seize this huge opportunity by leveling up its capabilities and hosting companies that are relocating from China as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade policies and higher tariffs, Panga said.
“We’re seeing this happening already. We’ve been registering projects where companies from electronics, from automotive, are relocating because of the need to service the requirements of the US market,” the PEZA chief said.
“To us this could be a windfall for the Philippines, and I would say the biggest winner would be from those in the electronics sector,” he added.
There are more than 400 electronics manufacturing services and semiconductor manufacturing services operating out of PEZA-run Economic zones.
“We’re closely watching the developments in this new Trump policy on trade,” Panga said.
In a separate statement on Sunday, PEZA said the Philippines can take advantage of evolving US trade strategies and position itself as a cost-effective offshore manufacturing hub for US and multinational companies that are moving out of China and other countries.
With the US as the Philippines’ oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific region as well as the Southeast Asian country’s strategic location as a key center for trade, investment, and logistics, Panga said he is optimistic about a stronger cooperation between the two countries.
