Philippines complains: 100% tariff by Trump, it will be ruined
On August 6 local time, US President Trump announced that a 100% tariff will be imposed on all imported chips and semiconductors, but proposed exemptions for companies that produce or commit to producing in the United States.
According to a report by India's Business World on July 7, Philippine industry insiders expressed concern, believing that this move will have a "devastating" impact on Philippine exports, severely hitting the country's foreign trade industry which is based on electronic products.
"70% of the Philippines' export products are semiconductors, of which 15% (about $6 billion) of semiconductor exports go to the United States," said Danilo C. Lachica, Chairman of the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Association. A 100% tariff would be devastating. According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the value of semiconductor and electronic product exports from the Philippines reached $39.09 billion in 2024.
George Balsilon, Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, clearly stated in an interview with local media that the semiconductor industry should not be subject to such high tariffs, as this measure contradicts the provisions of the World Trade Organization's Information Technology Agreement.
Lucio Piterlo, a researcher at the Asia-Pacific Foundation for Progress, pointed out that the Philippines mainly undertakes the "assembly and testing" link in the global semiconductor industry chain, and is more vulnerable to the impact of tariff policy changes, with the risk of transferring related industry jobs.
He believes that the Philippine government should seek clear explanations from the U.S. side and strive for preferential tariffs or tax exemptions.
Earl Lawrence S. Qua, Chairman of the Philippine Electronic Industry Association, said that most large semiconductor packaging plants have already established businesses in the United States.
"These are multinational companies with operations covering multiple regions, including the United States. So I am not sure what impact the tariff will have on them; they may be granted immunity like Apple," Qua said.
But he admitted that this move by the United States will force local companies to consider expanding their business in the U.S., or investing in the U.S. However, in the short term, it may cause significant damage.
Arsenio M. Balisacan, Director of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines, expressed optimism about this. He believed that the semiconductor tariff would not have an "adverse" impact. His reason was that compared to other manufactured goods exported, semiconductors and electronic products do not have high added value.
He added that the second consideration is that although the Philippines' electronic and semiconductor exports are affected by such tariff changes, a large portion of the export products are going to other countries. Approximately 80%-90% go to countries such as China.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1839882473335815/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.