PH officials to lobby trade bill on Capitol Hill

THE PHILIPPINE government will again lobby for the passage of the Philippine Recovery Investment Development Export (PRIDE) bill before the United States Congress. The bill seeks to provide duty-free access of, and preferential treatment to, goods produced in certain areas in Mindanao and parts devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia Jr. told reporters Friday that officials have yet to file the proposed bill and secure the support of American legislators.

According to Cuisia, the PRIDE bill has already generated some interest in the United States, since the proposal will not only help in the recovery of typhoon-stricken areas in the Visayas, but will also speed up the economic development of Mindanao.

The main goal is to be able to generate quality jobs in these areas, he explained.

Initially, the Philippines wanted to secure preferential treatment for garments, bags, and other goods manufactured in parts of the Visayas. The government later on decided to add certain areas in Mindanao which, Cuisia said, have yet to identify.

While this bill appears to have a better chance of being passed in the US Congress compared with the Save Our Industries Act, the Philippine envoy to Washington has admitted that it will still be a big challenge to lobby the trade bill.

“The US is focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, and they would not want to give preferential treatment or trade preference to one country. They prefer it to become part of a trade pact, like the TPP, and in the case of Europe, the Trans-Atlantic Partnership. We recognize that it’s going to be a big challenge, but we have to do it to be able to assist our countrymen,” Cuisia said.

The Philippines has been trying to join the second round of TPP negotiations, once it opens up to new members. TPP is considered to be the country’s only chance to secure a trade pact with the United States.

The preferential treatment under the PRIDE bill “is temporary and will be effective for a maximum of five years because that will also enable us to build our capacity to prepare ourselves to eventually join the TPP. We would like to see the Philippines joining the TPP, but we also need time to prepare our industries to ensure that we are qualified to join,” Cuisia explained.

“We are asking for this time frame as a transition for us to get into TPP,” he added.