The Philippine Parts Makers Association (PPMA) said over the weekend the automotive parts manufacturing sector, which sustains 220,000 Filipino jobs and generates P150 billion annually for the economy, remains under siege.
PPMA said, despite the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) bold but unsuccessful 2021 safeguard measures, imports now command 65 percent of the domestic market, pushing 15 percent of local suppliers toward collapse.
“The 2021 safeguards were a wake-up call. In 2025, we must learn from their shortcomings and finally secure our industry’s future,” said PPMA president Ferdi Raquelsantos.
The DTI’s 2021 provisional duties targeted a 35-percent year-on-year import surge, including P72 billion in automotive parts that crippled local producers.
Though rejected by the Tariff Commission due to “insufficient injury evidence,” the effort highlighted systemic vulnerabilities.
“The intent was right, but the execution lacked teeth,” Raquelsantos said.
“Today, imports have swelled to P98 billion, and local production of engines and transmissions has dropped by 15 percent. We cannot repeat half-hearted measures,” he said.
The group said that since 2021, 12,000 jobs have vanished, and 20 percent of Filipino-owned suppliers risk shuttering by 2026.
Meanwhile, Thailand and Vietnam invest P300 billion to P500 billion annually in automotive policies, dominating ASEAN’s P1.2-trillion aftermarket.
“Our competitors aren’t waiting. Steel part imports jumped 40 percent in 2023, while electronics shipments—often priced below cost—rose 25 percent. Without robust safeguards, we surrender our future,” Raquelsantos said.
PPMA urged the DTI to adopt critical reforms, starting with stricter safeguards such as tariffs on high-volume imports like EV components, a sector poised to grow 250 percent globally by 2030.
Equally vital is real-time trade monitoring to combat predatory pricing, mirroring Malaysia’s policy framework that boosted local content to 40 percent.