The leader of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT) appealed for stronger government support to the troubled export industry and higher budget for export promotion and market diversification following the negative impact of the higher US tariffs on Philippine exports.
PHILEXPORT president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr., in a live studio interview today (October 3, 2025) with Bilyonaryo News Channel, confirmed that exports to the US have gone down, including shipments of garments, furniture, and coconut products, in the wake of the 19% tariff imposed on Filipino exports.
“Our export to the US has been affected and I think… our export will lose about US$2 billion because of these changes,” Ortiz-Luis said.
He said electronic exports to the US have not yet been impacted but warned that this could probably change later on.
He also shared that as a result of the increased tariffs, Hong Kong has overtaken the US as the No. 1 destination for Philippine exports last August. “That proves we’re trying to shift to other areas but it’s easier said than done.”
“So we have to look for other markets—the EU, the Middle East, and ASEAN, where we can have complementary export,” he continued.
However, asked if Filipino exporters have the capability to seek out new markets and adapt to these changes in global trade trends, Ortiz-Luis replied: “Unfortunately not. Because among our neighbors, support of the government for exporters is the least in our country.”
He pointed out that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has a very limited budget to carry out the heavy task of export and MSME development.
Asked to comment on the tight budget in light of the corruption scandals besetting flood control projects, the executive said, “In the past, whenever we tried to lobby for export and SMEs, questions they ask us include ‘Where will you get it?’”
“If only we can get 5% of what is lost in the floodwater, that would help a lot in the development of export,” Ortiz-Luis said humorously. “Also [in the development] of SMEs, which are lagging behind all our Asian neighbors.”
To illustrate how “pathetic” Filipino exporters are, he said the Philippines could only afford to send about 10 exporters to big fairs abroad compared to more than 200 that are normally sent by peers like Malaysia and Thailand.
Meanwhile, on the export revenue target for 2025 amid the tariff imposition, Ortiz-Luis projected that “we will land between P105 billion and P110 billion,” which is lower than the earlier target set by the government.
The business leader warned that if the country’s export sector continues to underperform, it could lead to “loss of investment, expansion will be held, [and] loss of employment.”
Thus, he called on the administration to prioritize support for the export sector through the allocation of a budget that is “reasonable,” if it cannot come close to the huge budgets of the country’s competitors.
He said doubling the budget allocation of DTI would be a good start, adding that a bigger allotment for export growth should not be considered as an expense but an investment in the export and SME industries.
