The Philippine has passed the country review conducted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, citing the country’s progress in addressing workers rights, which is a condition to enjoying US trade privileges.
The USTR said Friday it closed the country review of the Philippines with respect to labor rights under the US Generalized System of Preferences.
It said the decision to close the review was “based on progress by the Philippine government in addressing worker rights issues in that country, including through reforms of labor laws and regulations.”
Labor rights is one of the areas being monitored by USTR, if the Philippines will continue to enjoy the preferential and duty-free privileges for some of its products entering the United States.
“The US acknowledges our initiatives towards creating decent jobs and upholding workers’ rights. The closing of the GSP country review on the Philippines is indeed a major milestone for Philippine trade and labor,” said Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr.
The US GSP aims to promote economic growth in developing countries through preferential and duty-free entry to the US market of products from 122 designated beneficiary countries and territories, including the Philippines.
The trade benefits, however, are tied to a number of conditions which include intellectual property rights protection, upholding of workers’ rights and protection against child labor.
The GSP country review on Philippine labor standards and practices focused on monitoring the country’s progress on labor-related issues and labor reform legislations.
Philippine exports under the US GSP reached $1.25 billion in 2013, making it the fifth largest user of the program.
Major Philippine exports under the US GSP are measuring and checking instruments, appliances and machines, other cane sugar, telescopic sights for rifles not designed for use with infrared light, other acyclic monoamines and their derivatives and insulated electric conductors.
The US GSP program covers 5,000 products or tariff lines or roughly 47 percent of the 10,600 total US tariff lines and includes most dutiable manufactures and semi-manufactures, and selected agricultural, fishery and primary industrial products.
Any other articles determined to be import-sensitive cannot be made eligible for GSP such as products of steel, glass, and electronics.
This issue has been in the forefront of the Trade Department-led Trade and Investment Facilitation Agreement (TIFA) meetings between the US and the Philippines and in various bilateral meetings with the US including representations by the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. led by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.
“The hard work and excellent collaboration among the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. made this possible,” said Cristobal.
The US GSP program was instituted on Jan. 2, 1976, and authorized under the US Trade Act of 1974 for 10 years. It has been renewed periodically since then by the US Congress. The current program is effective until December 2017.