The Philippine government is at gaining greater access to the European Union (EU) since the approval of a US bill that will down tariffs on Filipino-made textile products. The country is expecting a green signal from the EU under its Generalized System of Preference Plus (GSP+).
The Philippines is among the beneficiaries of the regular EU GSP, which provides duty-free entry of 2,442 products to Europe. The old GSP scheme also slaps lower tariffs on 3,767 other goods. Under the GSP+, the list of products qualified for duty-free entry has been increased to 6,274, including garments.
Philippine exports to EU under the old GSP touched 1.076 billion euros in 2012. Under the GSP+, shipments could increase by 12 per cent, thus creating 270,000 new jobs in the Philippines. Since American legislation is dealing with other issues at the moment, Philippines feel this is not the right time to lobby for the Save Our Industries (SAVE) Act.
First filed during the 111th Congress, the proposed SAVE Act will make Philippines garment exports bear lower tariffs provided these products use American fabrics. Manila is banking on the legislation to revive its garments industry, which declined when export quotas were lifted in 2005 under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
