By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
INVESTMENT could grow under the second Trump administration, in the form of manufacturers relocating out of China, while services, which are less affected by tariffs, could benefit from deepening integration of the US and Philippine economies, regulators and industry officials said.
Growth of US investments to be sustained even under President-elect Donald J. Trump, said the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said via Viber “that deep ties will continue to be shared between the US and the Philippines, especially in trade and business” under a Trump administration.
Economic zones managed by PEZA “remain the home of premiere US locators and we foresee this to continue under (Mr. Trump). As President Marcos proclaimed, the US-Philippines relationship will blaze a path of mutual prosperity,” he added.
He said manufacturers in China could seek alternative production bases when the new US government follows through on its threat to raise tariffs on all imported products.
They could opt to “establish manufacturing in the US while shifting some of their production outside of China while retaining a presence in Asia,” he said.
He said that the Philippines can be a preferred investment destination in ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific due to its demographics, fiscal incentives, the presence of high-tech manufacturing companies, trade privileges, and a stable economy.
“Through the economic zones, we can readily host manufacturing companies that relocate their factories or invest in new facilities in the Philippines,” he added.
Meanwhile, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said that it is confident that the IT-BPM industry will achieve its targets under the new US government.
“IBPAP remains confident that the industry will continue to sustain its growth projections and achieve its baseline targets in jobs and service export revenue,” IBPAP said in an e-mail in response to queries from BusinessWorld.
“The demand continues to be strong from North American investors across the various sectors of IT-BPM,” it added.
AmCham Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe said that the chamber will continue working with the US government to strengthen economic ties between the US and the Philippines.
“We will always continue to do so under any administration. We will keep working to build on the progress made to boost our trade and economic relationship and increase US investments in the Philippines,” he said via Viber.
