Author Archives: edcinforms

Quality Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) to enhance the Philippine trade environment

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A forum on “Moving Towards Quality Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) was conducted to advance the goal of quality NTMs in the country, its relevance, and issues stemming from it. It aims to provide updates on measures taken by the government arising from the results of the business survey on NTMs conducted by the International Trade Center (ITC) in 2016, collaborate with key private sector stakeholders on moving towards quality NTMs noting current industry accounts on trade facilitation. In addition, it also aims to foster knowledge and experience sharing among different government agencies that carry out NTMs and its formulation and implementation. Finally, to review the current governance and set gears for an inter-agency collaboration on NTMs.

Export Marketing Bureau’s Assistant Director Agnes Legaspi provided the updates on International Trade Center’s 2016 Philippine NTM Survey. According to her, the report showed that NTMs relating to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures or technical barriers to trade (TBT) issues are the most in number, followed by the rules of origin and customs clearances. The others are burdensome technical measures faced by Filipino exporters such as fumigation requirements, labeling requirements, product certification, and other export requirements. Dr. Thomas G. Aquino’s point of view supports the aforementioned issues, stating that prevalent challenges such as changes in trade practices add up to the difficulties in compliance of the industries to existing legitimate NTMs, thus causing hurdles to businesses. In addition, other issues on NTMs, specifically for chemicals are deemed to be disguised as TBTs.

In order to address the aforementioned issues, and the goal of having quality NTMs for the country, government agencies are carrying out their respective NTM procedures and processes to ease the burden of the exporters as:
a) Tariff Commission (TC) recommended that their agency can collaborate with the University of the Philippines Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation, Inc. (UPPAF) Regulatory Reform Support Program for National  Development (RESPOND) to improve transparency, accessibility, cooperation, and technical training on quality NTMs through issuance of reports on findings and recommendations for prioritized reforms, and constructing a national registry on NTMs. They also plan on strengthening the role of TC in NTMs policy making by institutionalizing it.

b) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) will strengthen their role as the country’s National Enquiry Point (NEP) and National Notification Authority (NNA) for World Trade Organization – Technical Barriers to Trade(WTO-TBT). As NEP, their role includes collating TBT Notifications to be routed to relevant stakeholders, and as NNA, to notify the WTO on the technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures from the different government agencies.

c) Department of Health – Food and Drug Administration (DOH-FDA) will be implementing their License to Operate (LTO) and Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) in a much shorter time (20 days) as prescribed by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.

This forum was organized by the UPPAF in collaboration with Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. PHILEXPORT), Tariff Commission (TC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Export Development Council (EDC). –KJDA

BOC addresses ECQ accreditation order thru OCOM memo no. 62-2020 

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On March 17, further operational guidelines under the Inter Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) concerning the implementation of the  “Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)”, ordered that “All government agencies in the Executive Branch are hereby directed to issue accreditation orders to identify their respective skeletal workforces for critical services operating during the duration of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon…”

Following the aforesaid mandate, and in aid to process new and pending Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) transactions, the Office of the Commissioner (OCOM) issued Memorandum No. 62-2020 “Guidelines for the Issuance of Accreditation Pass to BOC Stakeholders” which covers the application and issuance of accreditation pass to BOC Stakeholders, under Sec.1 including 1) BOC accredited importers; 2) Licensed Customs Brokers; 3) Declarants; or 4) Any of their authorized representatives,   that would authorized them to access BOC premises and may also be presented at any established checkpoints during the ECQ implementation.

Despite of the ECQ countereffects in trade, this memorandum will help the immediate release of shipments to lessen port congestion and other trade facilitation issues affected from this directive. – MRJ 

DA assigns regular personnel in OSEDC

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Special Order No. 189, s. 2020, assigning regular personnel of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) at the One Stop Export Documentation Center (OSEDC) in Pasay City. Job Order (JO) personnel will also be retained to ensure continuity of service in BFAR-OSEDC.During the Export Development Council (EDC) meeting last 06 February 2020, BFAR informed that the pullout of its JO personnel assigned at the OSEDC is postponed until June 2020. However, the Council argued that the presence of regular BFAR personnel in OSEDC is important to ensure timely issuance of export commodity clearances (ECCs). Data shows that 300 to 400 ECCs are issued every day to exporters of fish and fishery products including shell crafts and ornamental shells. DA Secretary William Dar concurred and instructed BFAR to immediately prepare a Special Order assigning regular personnel and retaining JO personnel in OSEDC.

OSEDC was established through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), PHILEXPORT and other government agencies involved in export including BFAR. The OSEDC promotes ease of doing business by bringing together under one roof different government agencies involved in export processing. –MDGTD

Electronics and Services exports forecast bullish performance in 2020

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“The services export is continuously growing, thus, total exports are projected to increase in single digit percentage.” Export Development Council (EDC) Executive Director Senen M. Perlada reported during the EDC Meeting last 06 February 2020.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) reported that Electronics exports reached US$ 43.32 billion in 2019 accounting for 61.60% of the country’s total commodity exports of the year, or a 4.06%, exceeding the industry’s full-year growth target of 0-3% and reaching a new record. Also, the Electronics industry forecasts to grow by 5% this CY 2020.

Electronic products remained leading among the identified key exports of the Philippines under the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022 along with Processed Food and Beverage, Tourism, and information services such as the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM)- PKC

DTI and DA forges strong partnership to increase export of agribased products

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The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Agriculture (DA) show strong support to boost export of agribased products with high global demand. Secretary William Dar of the DA during the Export Development Council (EDC) meeting acknowledged that partnership between DA and DTI is significant in order to supply the demand of export market and to develop other potential crops for export.

EDC Executive Driector Senen Perlada reported that DTI- Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) has identified four (4) agribased products that have high global demand namely calamansi, ube, pili and mango. He suggested to Secretary Dar that the propagation of these products be included in the DA’s programs. Mr. Ferdie Marañon, EDC representative from Mindanao also raised during the said meeting that there is a recurring problem with the production of cardava (saba) in their region citing that small farmers of cavendish have limited knowledge in growing this variety of banana.

In response, Secretary Dar emphasized that the DA is assisting small farmers by their provision of seedlings and conduct of trainings in growing and production of “saba”. He added that Php50Million was earmarked for the seedlings. Moreover, Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) is available to finance projects and activities that will help enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture sector. This fund is specifically designed for MSMEs for their capital outlay expenditure and other similar expenses. – PKC

BOC mandates onboarding of TRGA’s to TradeNet by March 2021

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EDC lauds the pronouncement made by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) AOCG Deputy Commissioner Edward Dy Buco that stakeholders can expect enhanced trade facilitation with the Bureau in 2021.  He added that the Commissioner assures its support towards export growth by prioritizing export-related activities in the Bureau’s 10-Point Priority Program for the upcoming year.

Hence, in collaboration with ARTA, BOC will lead the onboarding (by phase) of all 73 Trade Regulatory Agencies (TRGAs) on TradeNet by  03 March 2021.  Member agencies of the old Philippine National Single Window (PNSW) are prioritized in Phase 1 of the TradeNet onboarding process.  Steps for the Agencies’ onboarding activities to include the following: Continue reading → BOC mandates onboarding of TRGA’s to TradeNet by March 2021

EDC recommends legislative priorities for the 18th Congress

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The Export Development Council (EDC) through its Networking Committee on Legislative Advocacy and Monitoring (NCLAM) has prioritized the export sector’s legislative agenda for the 18thCongress to have a more competitive export industry.

EDC supports the amendment of the Public Service Act (PSA) to have a clear statutory definition of public utilities and public services.  Also, the measure aims to provide greater competition and investment and lower costs to support the flow of goods and services.

On transport and logistics, some of the recommendations include the Amendment of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Charter in order to separate the regulatory and operator functions of both agencies.

On trade financing, EDC advocates the amendments to Republic Act 9501 (Magna Carta for MSMEs) to provide an extension of the mandatory allocation of credit resources to set aside 10 percent of their loan portfolio for lending to MSMEs. The amendments will also strengthen the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.), both in terms of capitalization and exemption from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ supervisory powers.

There is also a proposal for the amendment of Republic Act 8172 (ASIN Law). EDC acknowledges that there is a need to clarify an exemption in all salt incorporated in export food products.

The EDC- NCLAM as mandated in the Export Development Act aims to assist in the effective implementation of the Act through advocacy of necessary legislative actions that shall promote Philippine exports. The Committee is composed of members from both the relevant public and private sector. –MDGTD

DTI, DOTR, DOF to issue JAO regulating the international shipping charges

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In a recent pronouncement, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez stated that the Departments of Trade and Industry, Transportation and Finance will issue the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) that will regulate local charges imposed by international shipping lines.

The draft JAO was already signed by the Trade Secretary and still need to be co-signed by the Secretaries of Finance and Transportation.

While the JAO is still to be signed, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has already issued orders resulting to normalizing utilization rate of container depots in Manila ports back to 70%.

Specifically, the BOC issued Customs Memorandum Order 13-2019 in February which “disallowed brokers, importers, truckers and other port stakeholders to return empty containers within the premises of Manila International Container Port (MICP) and Port of Manila (POM) beginning February, until further notice”.

On the other hand, the PPA issued a directive stating “all importers, consignees, owners, and shippers of containers already cleared by BOC are notified to withdraw said containers within fifteen (15) days and shall be compelled to transfer these containers to a designated port or inland container depot at their cost”.

Hence, this facilitated the transfer of overstaying containers to Batangas and Subic Ports with the cooperation of the port operators.

International Shipping Lines, for their part, are being required to promptly evacuate empty containers from the Manila ports within the prescribed period given by BOC, either by regular ship calls or sweeper vessels.

Secretary Lopez also assured the government is addressing the infrastructure needs of the country with its aggressive infrastructure program. MJAA

PHILEXPORT-Pampanga Chapter endorses Travel Tax Exemption for Region 3 Exporters

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PHILEXPORT Region 3 (Pampanga Chapter) now endorses Travel Tax Exemption (TTE) applications of its members in Region 3 (Central Luzon). To facilitate the processing of TTE applications, the Technical Working Group on EO 589 approved the request of PHILEXPORT-NATIONAL for the additional signatories of its chapter in Pampanga.  PHILEXPORT-R03 now endorses TTE applications directly to the Export Development Council which monitors and oversees the implementation of the Executive Order.

Exporters who will travel abroad to participate in international trade fairs and exhibitions, promotion and marketing activities of Philippine export products  can avail the  TTE incentives under EO 589.

Region 3 Exporters may download TTE application form at the EDC website (www.edc.net.ph) and submit  to PHILEXPORT R03 at Deco Central, Bldg., N3679 C.M. Recto Highway, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. Telephone numbers (045)599.6214/ 599.5170  Mobile No. 0917.6214758 or email at philexportr3@yahoo.com

NWPC  focuses on people- centric technologies & innovation  for MSMEs

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As the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 gain momentum, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),  focused its 2018  National Productivity Conference on  people-centric technologies & innovation for MSMEs.  DOLE Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunsad, III pointed out that  the on-going concern on inflation can also be addressed by improving the productivity of producers which will influence prices.  As such, he emphasized the need to embrace new technologies, but put people in control of technology.
Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) supports the NWPC as she said that human capital is crucial for innovation and entrepreneurship.  DTI’s approach to implement Industry 4.0  is through the Inclusive Industrial Innovation Strategy  that aims to link the manufacturing sector with agriculture and services. Such links can be realized when there are regional inclusive innovation centers where government, research agencies, academe and industry collaborate for improved competitiveness.
Asian Development Bank’s Director of Development Economics and Indicators Dr. Rana Hasan confirms that technology increases incomes, contrary to the fear of many that  jobs will be  lost with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). He said that AI cannot be stopped as it is already here. Education, training and social protection such as unemployment insurance are necessary to cope with these new technologies. (EZM)