It's not the right time to lift EO on reduced tariffs —NEDA

Despite the decelerating inflation trend seen in the past six months, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the lower tariff rates on imports of various commodities shall remain so as not to disrupt the progress made in taming the price situation.

“I would think that when it comes to lifting those low tariffs for those essential commodities, my position is it's probably not the right time,” Balisacan said at a Palace briefing.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the chief economic manager of the Marcos administration, earlier said the economic team is now reviewing the possible further extension of an executive order which extended the reduced tariffs on various commodities until the end of the year.

Signed on December 29, 2022, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 10, extending until December 31, 2023 the reduced tariff rates on the following commodities:

• Meat of swine, fresh, chilled, or frozen at 15% (in-quota) and 25% (out-quota)
• Corn at 5% (in-quota) and 15% (out-quota)
• Rice at 35% (in-quota and out-quota)
• Coal at zero duty

“We’ll have to review the circumstances today if it still warrants further extending those tariff rates,” Balisacan said.

The country’s chief economist said that amid “the situation now,” the government has to be careful in reversing the gains in bringing down inflation.

“As we actually see it, the world prices of rice have been rising… and with the lag effects of those floods and the typhoons that hit us, we have to be careful about reversing the gains,” Balisacan said.

Inflation or the rate of increase in the prices of consumer goods and services continued its downtrend for the sixth straight month in July, clocking in at 4.7% from 5.4% in June and its lowest in 16 months since the 4% print in March 2022 amid slower movements in utility, food, and transport prices.

The EO 10 extended further the EO 171, issued by former President Rodrigo Duterte, which extended the effectivity of the reduced tariff rates under EO Nos. 134 and 135, and reduced the tariff rates on cord and coal until December 31, 2022.

Meanwhile, EO Nos. 134 and 135 temporarily modified the rates of import duty on meat of swine (fresh chilled or frozen) until May 17, 2022 and rice until June 1, 2022. —VAL, GMA Integrated News