The 17 percent tariff imposed by the United States on products from the Philippines is no cause for alarm, it will have no major effect on Negros Occidental’s economy because it is not an export producing province, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, April 7.
The Philippine agricultural products most commonly exported to the United States are corn and soybeans, he said.
The production of those crops in Negros Occidental are not even enough for the consumption of Negrosanons, he said.
He said the export of sugar to fill the Philippines’ share of the US quota is also not expected to affect the local economy.
“In most cases our sugar production is just enough for local consumption so I don’t think it will have a major effect on our economy,” Lacson said.
The United States imposition of a higher tariff on sugar is no cause for alarm for now, Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona of the Sugar Regulatory Administration also said on Sunday.
The tariff on sugar exported to fill the Philippines share of the US quota was previously 10 percent and now the reciprocal tariff is set at 18 percent not 17 percent for sugar, he said.
The explanation in the United States Department of Agriculture website is that the tariffs will be shouldered by the US importer, Azcona said.
The Philippines neighbors like Thailand and Indonesia were even given higher tariff rates, Lacson noted.
“I guess that’s because of the strong relationship between the Philippines and the US,” he said.*