US business in PH normal, says American Chamber of Commerce

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines said that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country, which has many clients from the United States (US), will not likely be affected by the US government shutdown.

“This shutdown will impact many US government services within the United States but will not have a significant impact beyond the US borders,” Rhicke Jennings, American Chamber of Commerce President, said in an emailed statement Wednesday night to INQUIRER.net.

“US business will continue to need the services of the BPO industry here in the Philippines as US commerce will continue to operate normally,” he said.

The US government was partially shut down October 1 after Congress failed to pass the budget.

Services that are considered “non-essential” will be closed. Those include US national parks, monuments, and museums. Primary services such as police, military, airports, postal office, etc., would continue to operate along with businesses, Jennings said.

“People will continue to travel and do business,” he said.

This is the first time the US federal government went into a shutdown since 1996.

“Therefore while people travelling to the US on holiday may be disappointed that they cannot access national parks and other sites, international business and the need for support from our BPO industry will continue uninterrupted,” he said.

“Those businesses that are directly involved with the US government or require permits or project approvals may experience delays depending on the situation,” Jennings added.

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce may avail of its assistance and support services during the shutdown period.

“We hope this will be resolved soon and that it does not impact key global events such as the APEC Leaders’ Summit,” Jennings said.

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