LOCAL garment exporters appealed to the government to jump-start negotiations with US trade officials for a full-blown free-trade agreement (FTA) this early after their bid to get a preferential tariff deal exclusively for apparels was thumbed down by Washington.

The Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines (Congep) said in a statement that a 2008 kickoff for bilateral negotiations would enable investors in the industry to plan two to three years ahead for expansion.

“We need to jump-start now, even with the US presidential election, just so we are on the long waitlist line of US FTA partners,” the group said.

It said getting an FTA with the US, the industry’s top export market, is the “ultimate wish list” of local garment makers because it would enable them to access the US market without being assessed the 17-percent to 35-percent tariff.

Lawrence de los Santos, Congep president, said a full-blown FTA is now their only option after Washington said it is not keen on giving preferential treatment by individual sector.

“The US said no on apparel only, they were clear on that. It should be comprehensive,” de los Santos said.

The industry actually allocated funds for an extensive lobby work in the US to gather support for the grant of duty-free preferential treatment to Philippine-made garments.

While the objective was not attained, de los Santos said the lobby work still proved to be a success because the various American constituencies “now have us in their radar screens.”

Trade Senior Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino said garments can still go ahead of the other sectors depending on the scheduling of the FTA that will be negotiated with the US.

“The US has yet to say no on the FTA with us, so it will now depend on the phasing of the agreement,” Aquino said.

The US accounts for 70 percent to 75 percent of Philippine garment exports every year, or about $1.7 billion.

Congep said this could easily double if an FTA is forged with Washington.

De los Santos said the current estimated 200,000 workforce in the industry will also grow enormously if the apparel will get duty-free access to the US.

“Our sector is employing mass labor so we will give a lot of jobs to Filipinos,” he said.

LOCAL garment exporters appealed to the government to jump-start negotiations with US trade officials for a full-blown free-trade agreement (FTA) this early after their bid to get a preferential tariff deal exclusively for apparels was thumbed down by Washington.

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