The Philippines is working with fellow Asean countries Thailand and Vietnam in lobbying with US Congress for the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay yesterday while the country has been assured by the US Department of Commerce of the continuation of GSP, it is working closely with US Congress to have a law renewing the scheme passed.
The Philippines is the fifth largest beneficiary of the US GSP which allowed about $1.6 billion worth of exports enter duty-free in 2020, the last year when the GSP was in effect.
The GSP program expired on Dec. 31, 2020 despite legislative efforts to renew the program.
Several bills have been proposed in the US 117th Congress to reauthorize the scheme.
Philippine exports to US under GSP in 2020 represented 10 percent of total GSP imports of $16 billion.
The top four exporters were Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil and Cambodia from among the 119 developing countries.
The top categories of GSP imports in 2020 include travel goods, handbags, and other cases of various materials which is a strong suit of the Philippines. The others are jewelry of precious metals; special purpose vehicle parts and accessories; mattress parts; and lamps and light fittings
A separate report of the Department of Trade and Industry shows the Philippines saw a steady to increasing utilization rate of the US GSP. While value of products which claimed US GSP decreased in 2020 , mainly due to the pandemic, utilization rate remained at 74 percent.
