The
Philippine government is working to bridge its
trade gap with
Indonesia by
exporting more automobile parts to its ASEAN neighbor. At the sidelines of the
34th ASEAN Summit held last June 21 to 24,
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez discussed trade opportunities with his
Indonesian counterpart, Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita.
"President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing for the Philippines to
narrow its trade imbalance with Indonesia. Thus we hope that openness from both countries will result in a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the two countries," said Lopez.
Secretary Lopez noted that the
Toyota Fortuner, manufactured in Indonesia, is
one of the top vehicle imports of the Philippines. Hence he proposed for Indonesia to
source some of its parts for the vehicle
from the Philippines. In addition, one of the
long-term plans to increase local exports was for
Indonesia to import the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 and Toyota Vios when
the Philippines becomes the regional production hub for these vehicles.
In 2018, Indonesia was the Philippines'
ninth major trading partner, with
around USD.27 billion in trade. However, Philippine imports from Indonesia stood
at USD6.40 billion, while Philippine exports were only
at USD66.20 million.
