Two semiconductor firms – American and Chinese – are exploring the Philippines as potential alternative investment location to cushion the impact of Trump’s tariffs on their business.
Dan Lachica, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries Foundation Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), revealed a day after President Trump announced the imposition of reciprocal tariffs to its trading partners, including the Philippines. On April 2, 2025 (April 3 in the Philippines), Trump announced a “Liberation Day”, setting a new wave of tariffs on US imports.
“I’ve spoken with two companies who specifically said they are looking at alternative location and planning to move into the Philippines so they can take advantage from tariff uncertainty,” said Lachica during an interview with ANC.
Lachica later told Logisticsnews.PH that he cannot reveal the identities of the two firms yet, except that they are medium enterprises engaged in EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) business. Should the two firms pursue their plans in the Philippines, he said, they can “improve the EMS supply chain” of the Philippines.
While the reciprocal tariffs can make exports to the US more expensive, Lachica further told ANC that the upside is that companies in high tariff countries can choose to move to countries with low tariffs.
Among ASEAN countries, the Philippines, a long time US ally with moderate trade deficit in its favor, was only slapped with 17 percent reciprocal tariff. In ASEAN, the highest reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US went to Laos with a steep 48 percent followed by Vietnam with 46 percent, Myanmar 44 percent, Thailand 36 percent, and Malaysia 24 percent. China was charged with 34 percent tariff and Taiwan, 32 percent.
