Conwep sees ‘silver lining’ if Vietnam, Cambodia slapped higher tariffs
Philippine wearable products such as apparels, travel goods and shoes will also be taking a hit from the new US tariffs when the 90-day suspension is over, but the sector sees hope of survival when competitors Vietnam and Cambodia are slapped with higher tariffs, the head of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (Conwep) said.
Marites Agoncillo, Conwep executive director, told a hybrid forum organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) on Monday that articles of apparel particularly jeans, pants and suits will be hit the hardest by the reciprocal tariffs.
Agoncillo said these products will be more expensive because even before Washington’s April 2, 2025 announcement of reciprocal tariffs of 17 percent for the Philippines, these products were already slapped duties as high as 32 percent.
“Even before the announcement on April 2, wearables have not been enjoying any preferential status. This is a very critical moment for the industry,” Agoncillo said.
She added that if Cambodia and Vietnam would get a little higher than the 17 percent tariff earlier announced for the Philippines, “then (we) still can exist.”
The US has announced a reciprocal tariff of 46 percent on Vietnam and 49 percent on Cambodia. All tariffs have since been brought down to a base rate of 10 percent for the duration of the 90-day suspension.
Agoncillo said as long as the Philippines’ competitors in Asean have a higher tariff rate, “I have a silver lining.”
She did not respond to queries on the value of exports of the Philippines under Chapters 61 and 62 of the US tariff book where pants, jeans and suits are classified.
But based on her presentation at the forum, these chapters combined cover 2,589 tariff lines or 44 percent of the 5,815 tariff lines that Conwep members export to the US.
“These are the two items that can really get hit because these are the finished products. Chapters 61 and 62 are my priority lines,” she said.
Agoncillo said prior to the April 2 announcement, shoes were slapped 10 to 15 percent and bags, 10 to 20 percent.
On March 31, 2025, Malaya Business Insight quoted Agoncillo as saying the US accounts for about 72 percent of Conwep’s exports.
Total wearable exports amounted to $1.299 billion in 2024, down 4 percent from $1.35 billion in 2023, Conwep data showed.
