PH to seek lower US tariff after 12.5% rate imposed

The Philippines will negotiate for the reduction of the additional 12.5% tariff imposed by the United States due to the country’s failure to curb the importation of goods produced with forced labor.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Friday that Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Allan Gepty will lead the talks.

“We are going to negotiate on the basis that we will remove the child labor goods from our list of exports if it is proven to be so,” Romualdez said.

The ambassador also expressed hope the fresh tariff could be reduced to 10%.

For its part, Malacañang said it has taken note of the US decision and respects its processes.

“During the review, however, we emphasized that the Philippines has a strong policy against forced labor,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a message to reporters.

“We also informed them that a Joint Administrative Order, signed yesterday, establishes a mechanism to prevent the importation of products made through forced labor,” she added.

Castro said the Philippine government would continue engaging with the US while assessing the scope of the exemptions and their impact on Philippine exports.

The decision on the fresh tariff was announced Friday (Manila time) by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) after a months-long investigation across 60 economies under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, “whether any of the economies subject to these investigations fail to prohibit or to effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced wholly or in part with forced labor.”

“Based on the findings in the investigation of the Philippines, considering the public comments, testimony, and the advice of the Section 301 Committee, as well as the advice of advisory committees, and in accordance with the specific direction of the President, the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5% tariffs on products of the Philippines,” the USTR said in a notice.

DTI Secretary Cristina Roque acknowledged the US' imposition of unilateral tariffs against 54 countries, including the Philippines, due to “alleged failure to impose and effectively enforce prohibition of imports made by forced labor.”

She said that the Philippines will continue to engage with the US to emphasize that the Philippines has a “strong policy” against forced labor consistent with various International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions.

“In fact, just yesterday we signed a Joint Administrative Order with DOF and DOLE to provide an institutional mechanism to address the issue of forced labor,” Roque said in a statement. —AOL/VBL, GMA News