The United States Submits A Bill To Reduce Import Tariffs On Philippines Garments

Last June, when a member of the United States submitted the Save Our Industries Act to the house of Representatives, at the end of last month, Senator Kit Bond also submitted the bill to the Senate, proposing that under certain conditions, some Philippines clothing products could be allowed to be exempt from duty and import to the United States for a period of ten years.

According to the legislative process of the United States, if the two chambers deliberate and adopt each other, and after consultation and adoption between the two chambers, they will be signed by the president.

Some products are not subject to the source of yarn fabrics.

According to the bill, some of the clothing products made by Philippines include knitted shirts, shorts, trousers, swimming trunks, men's underwear, chest circumference, and men's wear woven shirts made of cotton or chemical fibre. If the yarn is made in the United States or Philippines, 50% of the tariff will be deducted.

Another attraction of the bill is some non sensitive clothing products, including cotton men's shirt, cotton or synthetic pajamas, dress, women's shirt, etc., regardless of the origin of yarn or fabric, as long as garments are produced in Philippines, they can enjoy zero tariff treatment to the United States.

A new opportunity for us and Philippines to win investors

If the bill is passed, the textile and garment industry in Philippines will benefit, and the export of US textiles will also be favorable.

At present, most of the US exports are used to produce fabrics of basic style T-shirts and jeans, which are mainly imported from central and South America. Once the bill comes into force, Philippines's demand for American fabrics will inevitably increase. In addition, it will also help the United States develop the Asian market with more high-end fabrics.

At present, clothing exports to the United States will be slightly reduced by about 17.5% of the tariffs. On the other hand, the collapse of the Doha round talks will make it a long way to go to cancel or substantially reduce tariffs. Coupled with the increasing trade friction between China and the United States, if this law is implemented, it will attract many investors to set up production bases in Philippines.