The Philippines has expressed support to United States-led initiatives Chip 4 and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework while pushing for a bilateral partnership on metal processing .
The Philippines also urged the US to renew its Generalized System of Preferences and reiterated its interest to forging a free trade agreement (FTA).
“We are monitoring the ongoing developments on the Chip 4 as we remain interested in the initiative to address the pandemic-driven gap in the global semiconductor supply chain. The semiconductor and electronics industry is one of the largest contributors to the Philippines’ manufacturing sector. The potential for the industry remains high, and firms are moving to create higher value-added products to meet global demand,” said Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual at the US-APEC Business Coalition Meeting in Bangkok on November 18.
The so-called Chip 4 alliance is composed of the US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan formed in 2021 to secure the global semiconductor supply chain, coordinate policies, subsidies, and joint research and development (R&D) projects.
Pascual said the Philippines is looking forward to joining the first negotiating meeting of the IPEF in Brisbane next month, adding the framework “will provide opportunities to cooperate on trade and investment.”
“We are keen to tap into grants, support or procurement opportunities to complement industry development initiatives of the Philippines,” he added.
Pascal said at the IPEF meetings, the Philippines has supported provisions on building supply chain integration and strengthening crisis response.
“We also continue to seek sustainable investments from US and global companies, especially those that will strengthen the country’s position within the largest global value chains of critical sectors, such as semiconductors,” he said.
Through the Working Group on Economics, Development and Prosperity under the Philippines-US Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, the country is also seeking cooperation on green metals to address the supply of critical minerals.
Pascual said the Philippines supports establishing a bilateral strategic partnership on metal processing for battery application and moving up from upstream to midstream in the battery supply chain.
“We also support establishing a bilateral strategic partnership on metal processing for battery application and moving up from upstream to midstream in the battery supply chain,” he said.
Pascual said an FTA with the US will serve as a more permanent mechanism to lock in market access interests and other binding commitments to expand bilateral trade and investment.
“We hope to build on the momentum of our previous dialogues on agriculture and intellectual property in moving towards possible FTA negotiations,” he added.
On the GSP, Pascual said the Philippines is looking forward to the scheme’s immediate reauthorization.
The Philippines has consistently been a top beneficiary of the GSP.
In 2021, the US was the Philippines’
top export market and its fifth largest import market.
“The strong trade relationship between the Philippines and the US is a product of the robust trade mechanisms in place that facilitate liberalized rules leading to enhanced preferential market access, which include the GSP,” Pascual said. – Irma Isip
