DTI’s Roque says PH still at an advantage on reciprocal tariffs

The Philippines is still at an advantage when it comes to reciprocal tariffs and can use this to boost the country’s exports into the United States as higher rates have been slapped on neighboring countries, Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque said over the weekend.

According to Roque, the Philippines having been given a 17% reciprocal tariff can be advantageous as other countries in Asia have higher increases — Cambodia at 49%, Laos at 48%, Vietnam at 46%, Thailand at 47%, China at 34%, India at 27%, South Korea at 26%, and Malaysia at 24%.

“If you look at the clearer picture, we are still at an advantage,” she said in an interview on GMA Super Radyo DZBB on Sunday.

Roque cited the case of the Philippines possibly capitalizing on having better rates than Thailand, to boost coconut exports into the American market.

“Mas mataas sila (They are higher) compared to us. Ang laki noon ah (That is large), that’s very big for us. We really need to use this opportunity para talagang i-push ang export na,” she said.

This comes as US President Donald Trump last week announced a 17% reciprocal tariff on Philippine goods, still “discounted” against the 34% rate that Manila charges against American goods.

Roque noted, however, that Philippine exporters should also diversify and penetrate more markets moving forward.

“Sinabi ko rin sa kanila, I mean sa mga negosyante (I also told them, I mean businessmen) in general, let’s not put our eggs in one basket para (so that) just in case may ganitong nangyari, meron tayong ibang (something like this happens, we have a) fallback,” she said.

“Hindi pwede na kumbaga lahat nasa isang basket (It cannot be that all are on one basket), but we are at an advantage. In fact, after lumabas ‘yung 17%, tinawagan ko sila (after the 17% came out, I called them) We are still at an advantage,” she added.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto earlier said the government is leveraging the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act to lure more investors into the Philippines, amid the reciprocal tariffs.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go also brushed off the impact of the reciprocal tariffs, as he sees it as a boon rather than a bane for the country’s economic future. —RF, GMA Integrated News