Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT): Catalyst for Export Development and Growth

The Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. or PHILEXPORT, is the country’s umbrella organization of exporters which is mandated, under the Export Development Act (EDA) of 1994, to strengthen the country’s export industry through its export promotion and development programs. It started as Philippine Exporters Foundation which was established in Oct. 30, 1984 under Executive Order 992. It later merged with another exporters’ association, the Confederation of Philippine Exporters, in Oct. 25, 1992 to become what it is today.

PHILEXPORT is a non-stock, non-profit service organization that is operating within the following framework:
VISION : PHILEXPORT shall work towards a sustainable development and prosperity for the Philippines and the Filipinos through exports.
MISSION : PHILEXPORT shall lead the export community and work with government in the pursuit of an export-led national growth and development.
OBJECTIVE : PHILEXPORT aims to turn the Philippines into a globally-competitive exporting nation by establishing an export-friendly nvironment and by further unifying and
strengthening the export sector.

To date, PHILEXPORT has a membership of over 4,000, nationwide, including companies belonging to 20 regional and provincial chapters and 51 industry associations that have affiliated themselves with PHILEXPORT.

The 18-man private sector team in the Board elected every two years represents 17 export sectors. Meanwhile, there are eight Cabinet-level government representatives in the Board headed by the Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary as Chairman Extraordinaire and the Secretaries of the Departments Agriculture, Finance, Environment and Natural Resources, Information and Communications Technology, Transportation and Communication, Board of Investments and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
In fulfilling its mandate, PHILEXPORT implements a number of institutional and special projects and services, including:

1. Policy Advocacy
As the unified voice of exporters, PHILEXPORT is actively engaged in policy discussions and deliberations on issues affecting the industry. Position papers and policy programs are developed and implemented based on inputs generated from its

Policy Committees. Its network in this area covers the academe; three branches of government; other trade-related government agencies; media and trade-related non-government organizations.

PHILEXPORT has likewise been a member and seats as an active participant in various policy Committees, Councils, and chambers of commerce and other business organizations including the following:
- Export Development Council (EDC) where PHILEXPORT sits as Vice Chairman;
- International Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP);
- Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI);
- Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP);
- Philippines Inc.;
- Committees of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (SMEDC);
- National Bamboo Industry Development Council;
- National Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC);
- Philippine Article Numbering Council, Inc. (PANC);
- Philippine Foundation for Crime Prevention;
- Export Trade Complaints Committee;
- MSME Resilience Core Group;
- United Portusers Confederation; and
- Portusers Confederation of the Philippines

PHILEXPORT is likewise the lead private sector implementing organization of the Philippine Export Development Plan, a six-year rolling plan mandated under the Export
Development Act which outlines the strategies and activities towards export development and promotion.

The Confederation is also at the frontline of the advocacy towards the approval of landmark legislations including the EDA, Philippine accession to the World Trade Organization, Magna Carta for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Philippine ratification of the Revised Kyoto Convention, Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Act, Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and E-Commerce Act and the establishment of the World Trade Center, National Packaging Center, the APEC Center for
Technology Extension for Small and Medium Enterprises (ACTETSME) and One-Stop Export Documentation Centers in Manila, Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and General Santos.

Believing that a market-based business environment will help develop exports, PHILEXPORT likewise advocated for the liberalization of trade, banking, shipping and retail sectors, the repeal of the uniform currency law, the shift from internationally adopted Transaction Value (TV) and the introduction of the ATA Carnet System to make it easier for Philippine exporters to join trade fairs.

Backing up these advocacies were over 50 major policy4 researches and studies conducted with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Ongoing are efforts towards the accession to the Istanbul Convention for the ATA Carnet system; streamlining government procedures and documents through computerization; facilitating access to MSME financing; addressing jobs-skills mismatch, lowering the cost of doing business; promoting a competitive exchange rate; facilitating business representation in government policymaking bodies and industry participation in trade agreements; implementation of the P280 million Export
Promotion Fund and the P1 billion Export Support Fund; wholesale lending through industry associations to their members; and waiver of travel tax for trade missions and promotion purposes.

As a response to this Covid 19 pandemic and to assist its members, PHILEXPORT launched the Export and MSME Resilience and Recovery Roadmap in June 2020 which outlines the strategies to bounce back. PHILEXPORT also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Departments of Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, Labor and Employment and the Development Academy of the Philippines to handhold its members to transition to the digital economy/Fourth Industrial Revolution.

2. Facilitation and Advisory
Through its Export Facilitation Department, PHILEXPORT is able to provide the necessary frontline services such as trade advisory, facilitation and referral; buyer-seller and investment matching; trade fair participation; special promotions programs and selling missions to PHILEXPORT members and foreign clients. Other services include the processing/facilitation of the following:

- APEC Business Travel Card;
- Travel tax exemption;
- Endorsement for trade fair participation and financing; and
- Client Profile Registration System for use of the E2M (electronic to mobile) system of the Bureau of Customsfor export; and
- Zero-rated VAT accreditation for indirect exporters

3. Capacity building and technical assistance
PHILEXPORT organizes a number of regular and per-need based seminars to assist members in their technical skills, managerial, product development and other training
requirements.

PHILEXPORT has also undertaken special promotions programs developed and implemented with international trade development and promotion agencies such as the USAID where brochures, videos and other promotional collaterals were5 produced for industry associations and sectors, Center for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) of the Netherlands, the Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFOC), International Trade Center (ITC), International Labor Organization (ILO), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the German Agency for International Development (GTZ).

Specifically through the CBI program, sectors including the furniture, metals and holiday decors sectors gained access to the European market, helping grow the Philippine market share in this region.
Meanwhile, modest funds through the Regional and Sectoral Support Fund are able to subsidize trade fair participation, development of promotional collaterals including websites, product and market development, capacity building, strengthening business support organizations and other special export-related projects.

4. Information Collection and Dissemination
PHILEXPORT responds to the information needs of its members through the following:

a. PHILEXPORT News and Features – a weekly e-publication that carries PHILEXPORT positions and updates on issues; news and feature stories from important events and
activities; and even promotional and market-related articles.

b. PHILEXPORT web site (www.philexport. ph) - the website contains information on PHILEXPORT as an organization, its services, industry profiles, list of PHILEXPORT
members, policy and market updates and other publications, trade opportunities, calendar of events and links to relevant trade web sites. There are also on-line
applications to avail of certain services such as e-marketing, applications for travel tax exemption and APEC Travel Card and membership and renewal. It also has a facility to
generate members' suggestions and comments on certain issues; and

c. PHILEXPORT social media accounts: FB, Linked-In, Twitter and YouTube

d. Market Update, Policy Advisories and Activities Bulletin - contains important information and sent to all or to sectoral members within 48 hours that they are received by
PHILEXPORT. Sources include embassies, online newsletters and other publications; local and international business support organizations and other similar agencies;
and

5. Bonded Warehousing Operations
PHILEXPORT operates its bonded warehouse for miscellaneous goods to enable its members to avail of the dutyfree importation of their raw materials, inputs and packaging to6 manufacture goods for re-export. Offering reasonable rates and computer-assisted documentation processing, PHILEXPORT’s CBW provides a better alternative to other existing import for reexport schemes such as the duty drawback and re-export bond schemes. To facilitate this process, PHILEXPORT has initiated the set up of an accreditation committee for CBW users.

6. One-Stop Export Documentation
Under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed with the Export Development Council (EDC), PHILEXPORT and its chapters manage administratively the operations of the OSEDCs in Manila, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Subic and Iloilo. These OSEDCs house under one roof representatives of the different government agencies involved in export documentation processing, namely the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Bureau of Plant Industry.

The resources of the Confederation, given the same growth rates enjoyed in the past years, are expected to sustain its members services and priority organizational needs.

Surviving one crisis after another, the Philippine export industry, like the Filipino people, has shown the resilience and muscle that is the envy of many of the country’s competitors. PHILEXPORT shallremain committed to champion this industry to create an exporting nation as the road to uplift the lives of many Filipinos