NSO stats show globalization good for RP

Contrary to popular belief, hard facts have shown that the Philippines has come out an undisputed winner after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

Trade statistics culled from the US Census Bureau, the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) before and after the country joined WTO prove false the impression that the Philippines got little from trade with other countries.

From 1994 to the year 2000, Philippine exports expanded at a phenomenal 160 percent compared to export growth of 133 percent for 14 years before WTO between 1980 and 1994.

Import bills in seven years under WTO inched up by only 47 percent against a surge of 161 percent for seven years immediately before the Philippines joined the trade regulatory body.

As a result of rapid export growth before the present global trade slump, exports to gross national product (GNP) ratio jumped to an average of 34.6 percent a year compared to only 19.4 percent in pre-WTO years.

In the area of job creation, companies hosted by Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) have employed 706,374 well paid workers as of September this year, from 304,557 workers as of 1995 or the creation of 400,000 new jobs in five years.

Philippine export surplus to the United States market stood at a healthy $5.1 billion last year after a cumulative 144-percent increase since the country joined the WTO. The US remains the main destination of Philippine goods, absorbing close to 30 percent of total exports each year compared to 14.7 percent sold to Japan.

The bulk of Philippine imports from the US are machinery, capital equipment and parts for manufactured exports like electronics. This means that the country’s leading trade partner is also its main source of new technology.

In the case of garments and textiles, the Philippines earned $2.3 billion from sales to the US last year under a US quota system. On the whole, the Philippines is the 20th largest trading partner of the US, ahead of Indonesia, Australia, Russia and South Africa.

It enjoyed the export of $745 million in duty-free furniture, handicrafts, electronics and automotive parts last year under that nation’s generalized system of preferences (GSP) program. Another $794 million worth of products would have been covered by duty-free privileges but the importers in the US did not claim the benefits.

Dumping of farm products under WTO is likewise a myth. Most sensitive goods are covered by up to 65 percent in import duties or covered by quantitative import restrictions. The real problem in Philippine agriculture is the high cost of production and transport that make farm goods one of the most expensive in the ASEAN. — Philexport News & Features