The Philippines will push for concessions on electric vehicles (e-vehicles) during meetings on the proposed Philippine-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the Philippines wanted a more forward looking agenda for the FTA or beyond the concessions asked for Philippine agricultural products.
“We told the other camp that we that can help them develop the market here and build the needed infrastructure if they would be able to assemble EV here,” he said.
The Philippines is interested in helping Korea build a battery production hub in the Philippines, where local companies can supply nickel for the electric batteries and copper for cars and vehicles.
Rodolfo noted that manufacturing electric motors were easier than manufacturing internal combustion engines. Unlike ICE, electric motors need only four parts to build while a motor vehicle requires over a thousand parts.