MANILA – The Philippines will benefit from the trade dispute between China and the United States (US) as foreign companies are moving to the country to export products, according to think tank Integrated Development Studies Institute (IDSI).
“There are benefits … The increased demand is that actually the $200 plus billion of the $500 billion deficit that they are talking about, more than $250 billion belongs to US and other European companies …” George Siy, president of the IDSI, said in an interview Monday on News To Go.
“So these companies that find it expensive to produce in China, lumalabas sila so maraming wearables na pupunta dito sa Pilipinas, sa shoes, sa bags, sa clothes like Balenciaga,” he siad.
But the Sino-US trade war also has adverse effects by creating “uncertainty” in the global economy.
“Mahirap magexport sa US, and US is the biggest market. The biggest beneficiaries are those that have very good logistics … Philippines has benefited, but we also have been hurt as the stock market has gone into the doldrums, the interest rates have gone up,” Siy noted.
“Nagkakaroon ng devaluation effect. Itong devaluation nagkakaroon din ng inflation. Itong trade war na ito is creating uncertainty, people are holding back and expecting more return for their risk because they feel that there might be risk. So ito ay nakakacontribute din sa inflation …” said Siy.
Trade tensions between China and the US have deepened, with both countries imposing steeper tariffs against each other’s products.
The US slapped a 10-percent duty on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, while China retaliated by imposing higher tariffs on $110 billion of American goods.
According to London-based Fitch Ratings, the trade war could hinder global economic growth. (GMA News)
