THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is in talks to adjust its various industry road maps in response to disruptions in the domestic and international markets, including the US-China trade dispute and inflation.
“With abrupt changes in the domestic and external markets such as the trade war involving major trading economies, heightened inflation, rising imports and the export slowdown, we need (stakeholder) inputs as we continue to formulate our policies and programs to better address these changes,” Assistant Secretary for the DTI’s Industry Development and Trade Policy Group (IDTPG), Rafaelita M. Aldaba, was quoted as saying in a statement on Wednesday.
The DTI started discussions with the business process outsourcing industry last month. Discussions due to take place this month involve the mining, tourism, paper, book publishing and printing sectors.
In November, the DTI will consult the construction; mass housing; cement and ceramic tiles; agribusiness; metalcasting; tool and die; and shipbuilding and ship repair sectors.
In December, it hopes to meet with the furniture, jewelry and gifts, decor and houseware sectors.
It will seek talks with the automotive, aerospace, electronics and appliances sectors before the year ends, but at unspecified dates.
“We have to re-engage the stakeholders as we’re seeing changes in the environment,” Trade IDTPG Undersecretary Rodolfo S. Ceferino said.
“These TID [trade and industry development] talks are instrumental in development and implementation of the industry road maps. As we deepen our discussions on the action points of these road maps, we can readily map out what will happen in these industries and what changes are needed,” Mr. Rodolfo, also the BoI Managing Head, added.
The discussions will generate updates on both sides’ programs, projects and concerns affecting the competitiveness of the various respective industries.
Mr. Rodolfo said core strategies remain in place. Among the priorities is increasing the ability of domestic industry to service domestic demand currently supplied by imports.
“That is why we need to identify what critical investments are needed in order to localize the products and services that we are now importing,” Mr. Rodolfo added.
The undersecretary also said the DTI continues to seek non-traditional trading partners and improve the overall business environment as the Philippines positions itself as a manufacturing and services hub for the Association of Southeast Nations. — Janina C. Lim
