The Philippines should reconsider its export strategy and instead tap the vast Asean market given the supply chain disruptions, high logistics costs and uncertainty posed by reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States, an exporters group said on Thursday.
“It may be worth revising our positioning in the region as the Asean economic community’s strategic plan 2026-2030 aims to position our region as the world’s fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030,” Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of Philexport, said in his report at the group’s
general membership meeting in Manila.
Ortiz-Luis said the 10-member Asean and the rest of Asia offer viable business propositions, and the country can leverage the regional productivity network that it has already established.
Ortiz-Luis said the Asean roadmap targets to double the digital economy in the region to an estimated $2 trillion through a seamless single market driven by innovation, sustainability, and productivity. Asean consists of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The roadmap also aims to strengthen the region’s role in the global value chain and support its aspiration to become the world’s fourth-largest economy.
“We must reduce our reliance on the US market and explore opportunities within Asean and beyond,” Ortiz-Luis said.
In 2024, about 15 percent of the Philippines’ total export revenue, which was about $11.02 billion, came from Asean members. Electronic products topped exports to the region, accounting for 57.5 percent of total exports to the area.
Thailand was the top destination for Philippine exports within Asean, receiving 26.8 percent of the region’s total exports, Ortiz-Luis said.
The Philexport head considers it timely that the Philippines initiated its free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Middle East, Canada, and other countries that promise to open new and significant opportunities for Filipino exporters.
The Philippines is also poised to join this year the high-standard Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is composed of Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and recently, the United Kingdom.
Ortiz-Luis also called for a review of the results of FTAs and for exporters to increase their utilization rate.
The Philexport head urged the use of the Philippine FTA Information Portal, which will later be expanded with the FTA Origin Management System. These digital platforms simplify access to tariff rates, origin requirements, and trade documents. There are market tools, including TradeMap, that are free, convenient, easy, and innovative instruments for market mastering and access.
Ortiz-Luis said Philexport will continue to push for measures that benefit exporters, especially those supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises. These measures, which failed to pass in the 19th, will be refiled in the next Congress, he said.
These include the Magna Carta for MSMEs to help ease financial access, the International Trade Maritime Act to regulate domestic costs of international shipping lines, and the National Quality Infrastructure Development Act.
