Gov’t looking at measures to ease US-China trade war impact

MANILA, Philippines — The government is already bracing for the possible effects of the trade dispute between the United States and China as trade and economic officials laid out measures that will mitigate the effects of the trade war between the two economic giants.

According to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, the discussion on the effects of the US-China trade war in the Philippine economy was raised during the 41st Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday night.

Panelo said the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conveyed that while the Philippines was “not as vulnerable in the trade war; in the long run, any prolonged trade war will have negative effects.”

To mitigate the effects of the trade war, the Palace official said Neda and DTI recommended the passage of the Corporate Income Tax Rationalization Act (Citra) and the amendment of the Foreign Investment Act.

In the 17th Congress, Citra is known as the “Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities” or the Trabaho Bill, which President Rodrigo Duterte identified as a priority bill during his fourth State of the Nation Address.

Currently in the period of debates in the House plenary, Citra seeks to slash the current 30 percent corporate income tax rate by two percentage points every other year to 20 percent in 2029 and rationalize all fiscal incentives under one omnibus code.

The two agencies also seek to intensify investment campaigns in East Asia, expedite business process, and reduce processing time in exports.

READ: Tax measures seen boosting PH credit ratings
/kga