Philippine-manufactured apparel products

By Gloria Jane Baylon

Three United States legislators have committed to support a U.S. bill that would allow for Philippine-manufactured apparel products using U.S.-made fabrics to enter that country duty free, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. 

The legislation is known as the Save Our Industries Act (S. 1244, H.R. 238) or SAVE Act.

The Department of Foreign Affairs describes SAVE Act as "an interim measure that will serve as a bridge, as the Philippines prepares itself for eventual membership in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)."

Del Rosario identified the three American lawmakers as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chairman of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Competitiveness; Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), senior member of the same Subcommittee; and Rep. Don Manzullo, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific under the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Del Rosario, accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose L. Cuisia Jr., met with leaders and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to campaign for the SAVE Act on April 17 and 18.

He told U.S. congressmen that by helping strengthen the Philippine economy through such arrangements as the SAVE Act, the U.S. is also making itself stronger.

The secretary noted that for a treaty ally such as the Philippines, the SAVE Act is a relatively small preferential trade program compared to existing similar programs for other countries that are substantially more generous.

Various programs provide for more liberal market access for a wide range of countries in the Caribbean, the Andean region, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East for countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Mauritius.

DFA said SAVE Act "would be a major step that would immediately contribute positively to Philippines-U.S. bilateral trade and overall relationship, in support of and in line with the strategic security alliance between the two countries."

Del Rosario, Cuisa's immediate predecessor in Washington, emphasized that the "apparel industry remains a very significant sector economically and politically."

"SAVE Act is mutually beneficial for both the Philippines and the United States because it also provides a significant new export opportunity for the U.S. textile industry.

"This opportunity could account for hundreds of millions in new U.S. textile exports in a short period of time that would translate into thousands of additional jobs for the U.S. textile sector," the secretary remarked.

Del Rosario also met with Senator Daniel K. Inouye, the principal sponsor of SAVE Act in the Senate, "who expressed steadfast and active support for the bill." Other congressmen "gave assurances that they understand both the strategic and economic importance of the bill, and that they will have to examine it more closely."

Del Rosario also had supposedly productive meetings with Senators Max Baucus (R-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Rockefeller (D-WV), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Robert Menendez (R-NJ), Debbie Ann Stabenow (R-MI), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).