The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging Philippine exporters to sell to Russia and take advantage of the country’s preferential tariffs under the Eurasian Economic Union Generalized System of Preferences (EAEU GSP).
“One of our strategies in expanding exports is to venture into non-traditional partners like Russia. Thus, we encourage exporters to maximize the benefits from the EAEU GSP,” DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) director Senen Perlada said in a statement.
The Eurasian Economic Union is a regional economic organization comprised of member states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, and Russia.
Products covered by the EAEU GSP are eligible for a 25% discount on customs duties and include food, furniture, and industrial goods.
Food products included are meat, fish, fruits, coffee, cacao, coconut products, sauces, and condiments. Furniture, gifts, and houseware in the list are articles of wood, basket ware, artificial flowers, statuettes, ceramics, and imitation jewelry. Also included are industrial goods like natural rubber. These products can also enjoy tariff preference in other EAEU member states.
In light of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the EAEU has allowed the submission of an electronic or paper copy of Certificate of Origin (CO) Form A which the exporter needs to provide the Russian importer to avail of the preferential tariff. The exporter will be given six months from the date of registration of the declaration of goods to submit the original CO Form A to the customs authority.
In 2019, Russia was the Philippines’ 21st trading partner, 32nd export market, and 18th import supplier. Exports to Russia increased by 18.81% from US$86.07 million in 2018 to $102.26 million in 2019.
Top Filipino exports consisted of industrial products like electronics, ignition wiring sets, activated carbon, new pneumatic tires, and watches as well as agricultural products such as desiccated coconuts, carrageenan, and other fruits and nuts. Bananas, avocados, mangoes, pineapples, and papayas are among the Philippines’ top fruit exports to Russia.
