President Marcos urges United States Congress to reauthorize GSP

WASHINGTON — President Marcos has urged the United States Congress to fast-track the reauthorization of the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which granted duty-free privilege to more than 3,500 exports from the Philippines.

The oldest and largest American trade preference program, GSP was established through the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic development in beneficiary countries by eliminating duties on thousands of their products entering the US. It has benefited a total of 119 countries, including the Philippines.

In remarks delivered during the Philippine-US Business Forum last Saturday here, Marcos said the future with the US would be sustained not just through the country’s “ironclad” security and defense alliance, but also through closer economic integration.

“For this reason, we appeal to the US Congress to fast-track the reauthorization of the US GSP program which has benefitted beneficiary countries such as the Philippines,” the President said. “On the other hand, the Philippines is also a major market for US products, and in 2021, based on data from the US Department of Agriculture, the Philippines is the 8th largest market for US agricultural exports and the top market in Southeast Asia.”

Marcos noted that the Philippines imported $3.5 billion worth of agricultural goods from the US in 2021. According to him, it is not surprising that US agriculture and food exporters are seeking lower tariffs and expanded market access for their products in the Philippines.

The President also cited the demand from the private sectors of the Philippines and the US for engagement in a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

“The benefits for concluding an FTA together with a Critical Minerals Agreement between both our countries will be transformative and will create new jobs, strengthen supply chains, establish new businesses and upskill our workforce,” he said.

Semiconductors and integrated circuits were the Philippines’ biggest exports to the US last year, reaching $3.1 billion, or 23.3 percent of its total exports to the North American country.

Aside from being a treaty partner and traditional ally, the US was the