₧1-B revenue lost from tariff cuts ‘for nothing’ By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas
T THE WORLD » A17
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HE national government lost at least P1 billion in revenues from the reduction of rice tariffs since 2021 without any concrete benefits to Filipino consumers, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) claimed. The FFF presented its arguments during the Tariff Commission (TC) hearing on Monday regarding the proposed extension of the lower tariff rates on rice, pork and corn on by the government’s economic development group (EDG). Based on its computations using government data, the FFF said the national government’s foregone revenues from the lowering of rice
tariffs to 35 percent for non-Asean imports amounted to P1.013 billion. The FFF presentation showed that the national government lost P278 million from June to December 2021, when the lowering of rice tariffs was first implemented. It was followed by P565 million in foregone tariffs last year and another P170 million from January to September this year, according to the FFF. From June 2021 to September 2023, the FFF said the national government collected a total of P1.796 billion tariffs from imported rice from non-Asean sources. If the tariff on rice imported from non-Asean countries was not lowered to 35 percent, the government should have collected about P2.809 billion, the FFF added.
Reductions ‘for nothing’
“SO, we reduced the rice tariffs for nothing, for nothing,” FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said. Montemayor pointed out that the initial argument in lowering the most favored nation (MFN) rates on rice imports was to diversify the country’s import sources to non-Asean suppliers like Pakistan and India. However, Montemayor claimed that this goal did not materialize to date. Citing computations of Customs data, Montemayor said the share of non-Asean rice to the country’s overall imports have been between 2 percent and 6 percent since the tariffs were lowered. In 2021, non-Asean rice imports accounted for 2 percent of total imports of the Philippines while in 2022
it increased to a 6 percent share, according to FFF. Montemayor said from January to September imported rice stocks from non-Asean had a 2-percent market share of the overall rice imports. “Were we able to significantly diversify imports? We did not. Even without the export ban, Indian exports to the Philippnies are few,” Montemayor said. “We remain basically very dependent on Asean [sources] like Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand. Was it worth the effort and the cost to reduce the tariffs on rice? I do not think so,” he added. Citing Customs data, Montemayor said Asean rice exporters accounted for 98 percent of the country’s total rice imports in 2021, 94 percent in 2022 and 98 percent from January to September.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 Vol. 19 No. 13
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TRADING INDEX RISES By Andrea E. San Juan
T
@andreasanjuan
DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENTS IN TOURISM FOCUS AT UNWTO
HE Philippines remained at the 12th spot out of 30 economies whose “readiness and capacity” to participate in the global trading system was gauged, but increased its score to 61.4 from last year’s 49.5.
According to the 2023 HinrichIMD Sustainable Trade Index (STI), while the country’s overall ranking did not change compared to last year’s, the latest STI report showed that the Philippines increased its rankings in all of the pillars being measured by the Index. Based on the report, the country improved its rankings in the Economic, Societal and Environmental pillars. The countr y climbed three notches to the 16th spot in the Economic pillar for 2023, from only 19th in the STI last year. The Philippines got a score of 54.7 in this year’s report. Under the Economic pillar, data from the report indicated that the country ranked first out of the 30 economies in terms of growth in labor force. In 2022, the Philippines only ranked 4th. Owing to the country’s more aggressive investment promotion, data showed the ranking of the Philippines in the foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows climbed a notch to 11th spot this year, from last year’s 12th. The Philippines’s ranking in consumer price inflation, according to the 2023 STI report, also improved by seven notches to 12th from last year’s 19th. See “PHL’s,” A2
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
G
LOBAL tourism leaders underscored the need to d iversif y investments in the tourism sector, and ensure these funds don’t go to a few well-established destinations. Opening the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNW TO) Investment Forum on October 18, UNW TO Secretar y-General Zurab Polol i k ashv i l i sa id, “Investing in tourism means investing in jobs and opportunity. UNWTO is committed to attracting the right form of investments into tourism. To guard against future shocks, we need to become a more diverse and resilient sector.” The Investment Forum, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan a day before the UNWTO 25th General Assembly, brought together tourism ministers of Albania, Colombia, Kingdom of Morocco, Maldives, Peru, and Spain, along with leading private sector experts and representatives of the global investment community
to reflect on key challenges and opportunities. In a news statement, the UNWTO said the panelists highlighted the key priorities of governments in national investment policymaking in the coming years to support the growing and changing investment needs of the tourism sector, while recognizing the vital need for both traditional and non-traditional investments in order to build greater sustainability, secure long-term resilience of the sector and to foster positive change. Furthermore, it was agreed that “by chaneling venture capital investments and providing crucial support structures is one of the most effective ways to unlock the potential of startups and foster an innovative and entrepreneur mindset.”
FDI needed to speed up innovation, support startups
UNWTO Executive Director Natalia Bayona said, from 2018 to 2022, almost 2,415 projects were announced, representing a total capital investment of US$175.5 billion. See “Diversified,” A2
TREASURY CLEANUP A cleaning staff member is seen at work in the Bureau of the Treasury central office in Intramuros, Manila. As the upcoming long weekend on October 30, November 1, and 2—designated as special non-working holidays—approaches, the Department of Labor and Employment reminds employers of holiday pay guidelines. During these days, the “no work, no pay” policy applies to employees. NONIE REYES
NG increases ceiling cost of socialized housing units By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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OW-INCOME Filipinos wanting to purchase their own home may find themselves paying more as the national government increases the ceiling cost of socialized housing units. A Joint Memorandum Circular
(JMC) reflecting this was released by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Monday. The JMC was signed last Thursday, October 19. T he ceilings for socialized housing prices, as well as socialized condominium units, were in-
creased by 46.55 percent and 33.33 percent, respectively. The ceiling cost for socialized housing is now P850,000, and for condominium units, P933,320. “We do not see the adjustment in the price ceiling as affecting inf lation; rather it intends to encourage private developers to supply socialized housing units,
given the simplified procedures and some tax perks for such projects,” Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon told BusinessMirror on Monday. Edillon said the adjustment was done to respond to the increase in construction costs since 2018. See “NG,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.7920 n JAPAN 0.3791 n UK 69.0818 n HK 7.2587 n CHINA 7.7652 n SINGAPORE 41.3785 n AUSTRALIA 35.8641 n EU 60.1938 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1469 Source: BSP (October 23, 2023)