PEZA & US Trade & Commercial Officials vow to strengthen Investment drive | Department of Trade and Industry Philippines

PASAY CITY – PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga welcomed US Trade and Commercial Section officials to the PEZA Office for a briefing on the current state of US investments in Philippine Economic Zones. The US Officials were led by Economic Counselor Phil Nervig together with Trade & Investment Economic Officer Tom Pohlman, Commercial Specialist Easter Villanueva, and Economic Specialist Alta Paraiso.

“We thank you for the interest that the US has shown in helping PEZA acquire more US investments in light of the renewed and strengthened ties that deepen trade and investment relations between our two allied nations!” Panga said in opening as he led the briefing for the US Officials.

The US remains the 2nd largest foreign investor in the PEZA led economic zones accounting for 14.16% of the RBEs which include long term hard investors like Texas Instruments, Collins Aerospace, Analog Devices, Concentrix, MOOG, Teradyne, JP Morgan Chase Bank, among others. There are currently 355 US locator companies in the PEZA economic zones generating employment for 365,257 Filipinos.

With PEZA being home to the largest industry players in the semiconductor industry, the parties also discussed collaboration through the CHIPS and Science Act, a US-led policy initiative aimed at diversifying its semiconductor supply chain.

PEZA Executives with the US Trade and Commercial Section Officials

Panga said that with the in-coming high-level US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to be dispatched by President Biden this coming March 2024, PEZA is bullish in welcoming more US companies to increase their investment portfolio in the Ecozones from the current PhP 404.37 Billion pesos. Exports derived from these US investments resulted in around USD 9.53 B for the Philippines.

The high-level US Presidential Trade Mission was a commitment of President Joseph R. Biden during the Official Visits of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the US and was announced in January 12, 2024. The Trade Mission will be led by no less than US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo from March 11-12 this year.

For his part, US Economic Counselor Phil Nervig said the meeting was of great interest and highly appreciated for the updated data on US investments that PEZA has shared. He extended the invitation to the 6^th Annual Indo-Pacific Business Forum to be jointly co-hosted by the United States and the Philippines. The forum intends to strengthen the position of the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains and high-quality investments.

Director General Panga thanked the US Officials for their continued trust and confidence and noted that PEZA has been consistently mentioned by the US State Department and most recently the U.S. International Trade Administration, US Department of Commerce, for PEZA’s regulatory transparency, no-red tape policy and one-stop shop services for investors in the US Official Investment Climate Statements.

Latest Recorded trade of goods and services between the Philippines and the United States stands at $36.1 Billion dollars with Philippine Exports reaching $23.3 Billion in 2022.

PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga with Economic Counselor Phil Nervig and Trade & Investment Economic Officer Tom Pohlman

Link from the US International Trade Administration 2024:

While the Philippine bureaucracy can be slow and opaque, the business environment has been notably better in special economic zones, particularly those available for export businesses operated by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). PEZA has received positive feedback for its regulatory transparency, no red-tape policy, and one-stop shop services for investors.

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/philippines-investment-climate-statement
https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-investment-climate-statements/the-philippines/ ♦

Date of release: 28 February 2024

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