THE Philippines will gain from the fallout of the US-China trade war as some American companies are relocating to the country, while those already in the country are expanding their operations, the country’s envoy to Washington said.
Ambassador Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, said Cargill, an animal nutrition supplier, and consumer goods multinational Procter and Gamble are expanding their operations in Manila.
“If I’m not mistaken, there [are] Cargill and Procter and Gamble companies that, instead of investing more in China, have decided to expand their operations here,” Romualdez told reporters Tuesday.
Although Cargill has been in the Philippines since 1947, Romualdez said the company will be investing $250 million in its expansion plans.
Several other US firms have also expressed interest in the Philippines because of its strategic location in the center of Southeast Asia, Romualdez added.
“We have a list of companies that have indicated their intent to move to the Philippines or expand their operations,” he said.
However, he added, more foreign companies would move to the Philippines if it will relax its restriction on foreign ownership like Vietnam, which has benefited largely from the trade war with many businesses relocating there in recent times.
“We really have to fast-track many of these reforms that we have, economic reforms.” He said the “main reason they are turned off” is the provision in the Constitution “that you cannot own more than 40 percent. That’s a big negative for us. So the minute they see that they lose interest.”
He added that Indonesia and Malaysia have no restrictions to land ownership.
“In Vietnam there is no limit that’s why they are getting a lot from the fallout from China. They have incentives. It’s so easy,” he noted.
The US and China are locked in a bitter trade war with President Donald Trump accusing Beijing of unfair trading practices.
Washington imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products in 2018, a move that angered China, which retaliated in kind, imposing tariffs on $200 billion of American agriculture products, among others.