.., , Appr©ved by !?resOdleril{; ]©~eph EHell''ldtl.~ !E§tr@dl~ 1dlW1l May"] p ~ 999 at Hi~ QQ)J@rtedy Meeting wg1l:h the E:n:port lDeve~©pmren{; C©lmd! ;as ma!f1d~tedl by Repub~k Act ~\iJ©o 1844 I The Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT), the dominant exporters' organization as mandated in Republic Act 7844 known as the .E;xport Development Act, sees exports as the engine of development and prosperity of the Philippines and its people. It seeks to turn the. Philippines into a globally-competitive exporting nation by establishing an export-friendly environment and by further unifying and strengthening the export sector. PHILEXPORT ceaselessly moves to broaden its membership bas'e as part of its strategy to achieve this goal. Todate, P"ILEXPOItr r,epresents the voice of over 3,000 export companies nationwide. It has also entered into memoranda of agreement with 42 industry associations to better address the sectoral concerns of all members. PHILEXPORT has established its national presence through its 16 regional chapters considered as the most export-active in the country. PHILEXPORT believes that exports should be a concern not only of exporters but of all Filipinos. To this end, the organization is actively implementing programs to improve the policy climate for exports. In November 1994, PHILEXPOItr entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAIO) to implement the P"ILEXPOI(T-Trade and Investment Policy Analysis and Advocacy Support projects (TAPS) which supports policy research ana reform advocacy to improve the competitiveness of Philippine industries, among other objectives. ........ , ...' . IN THIS ISSUE '.': .;::': The previous Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 1994-1998, was drawn up in 1993 and was a major component of the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan during the Ramos Administration, more popularly known as "Philippines 2000." The Export development Council (EDC) under the Export Development Act of 1994 (RA 7844), was given the mandate to oversee the preparation and ensure the implementation of the PEDP, with· particular focus on export products, target markets and policy networking. The administration of President Joseph E. Estrada now leads the country into the millennium. The Export Development Council, through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT), formulated the PEDP covering the period 1999-2001, with funding support from the Trade and Investment Policy Analysis and Advocacy support (TAPS) Project, a cooperative undertaking of PHILEXPORT and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Trade Development Consultants (TDC) was contracted to draft the PEDP with a consultancy team headed by former PHILEXPORT president Ma. Rosario Q. Franco, who was also once the Director of the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP) and Chief of the Planning Service. In the course of formulating PEDP 1999-2001, the EDC, through DTI-BETP and PHILEXPORT, organized a series of consultations, policy fora and workshops among industry leaders, business organizations, and government agencies including the regional offices of DTI. Targets were set through the projections based on statistical trending analysis, scan of market prospects and industry situationers. Policy agenda and programs were developed from current studies and interviews and informal discussions with government officials, industry leaders and other experts. The Plan builds on the gains attained under the previous PEDP and provides new directions for the continued growth of Philippine exports. In the formulation and updating of the PEDP, it intends to boost export performances and to ensure the continuity of reforms and initiatives that support open markets and global competitiveness. More importantly, it puts in context the export development thrust as a national development strategy in itself to achieve the bigger goals of employment generation, countryside development strategy and upgrading· of living standards - the key development thrusts of the Estrada Administration. The EDC will work for the implementation of the PEDP, the provision of resources for its implementation and its inclusion in the plans and programs of concerned government agencies and private organizations. The successful implementation of the PEDP requires purposive and coordinated action by both the government and the private sector. The DTI will be the lead agency in the implementation of the Plan. The involvement of the private sector, through the industry associations, encompasses all aspects from defining policy and strategy to implementing programs. The PHILEXPORT, as the EDC accredited exporters organization, will take the lead in undertaking the private sector commitments of this Plan. Thus, their level of participation puts on the private sector greater responsibility in shaping the environment that will support the growth of exports and industry. The pages summarizes the Philippine Export development Plan that brings the Philippines into the New Millennium. This material is published by the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (pHILEXPORT) under its Information Dissemination Program to present ,various insights on a particular subject relevant to the. export industry. The articles, papers and other readings presented through this facility were gathered from various sources and the views expressed therein do not necessarily reflect those of PHILEXPORT. USAID nor any of the institutions associated with PHILEXPORTITAPS. ,,:,. ',", CONTENTS ..... , INTRODUCTION 1 FRAMEWORK 2 OBJECTIVES 2 THE PLAN: HOW TO ACHIEVE THE TARGETS SET 3 A. MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 3 B. IMPROVING MARKET ACCESS AND 3 MARKET PRESENCE C. DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE EXPORT BASE 8 D. INFORMATION AS CORE 18 TRADE DEVELOPMENT SERVICE E. MILLENNIUM TARGET OF US $50 BILLION 18 F. THE PEDP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 24 G. NEXT STEPS 25 ANNEXES 1. US $34 BILLION TARGET FOR 1999AND 26 PROJECTIONS FOR 2000 AND 2001 2. MILLENNIUM EXPORT TARGET: 27 US $50 BILLION IN 2001 3. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE QUARTERLY MEETING 28 , OF THE EXPORT DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND THE ECONOMIC MOBILIZATION GROUP WITH HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA HELD ON MAY 7,1999 4. REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY 36 PRESIDENT JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA PHILIPPINE EXPORT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1999-2001 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The PEDP 1999 to 2001 provides the guide to boost export performance for the next three years and lay the groundwork to develop a sustainable and globally­ competitive export industry well beyond. It puts emphasis on the synergy and complementation among the various programs and initiatives that have either been started or thought of before, to create a unified and cohesive agenda. The Plan builds on the gains generated by previous export development programs but also goes beyond the previous PEDP as it defines roles and commitments of both Government and the private sector. Further, the Plan emphasizes the need to implement what have, for some time now, remained mostly on paper, and to evaluate such efforts with clear bottom lines. The Export Development Council (EDC) oversees the implementation of the Plan. The Plan is divided into the following parts: PART 1 revisits the medium-term framework within which the Plan is based. PART 2 provides an overview of Philippine exports by sector and presents prospects, projections and performance targets for 1999 to 2001. PART 3 presents the Export Policy Agenda of the Plan. PART 4 discusses industry development as a basic support to export deve~opment. Industry clustering is proposed as the core strategy to promote a strong and coordinated domestic base for globally-competitive industries. PART 5 identifies the roles of various institutions and spells out the necessary commitments of Government and of the private sector in terms of programs and other bold initiatives in support of the Plan and of the export development thrust in general. 1 PART 6 provides the framework for a National Communication Plan for Export Promotion, as a critical support program to the PEDP. PART 7, the concluding section, prescribes the programs, systems and succeeding steps that will help ensure the Plan's effective implementation and defines specific performance indicators to the Plan. FRAMEWORK The over-all direction LInder the medium-term Framework for export development is the pursuit of global competitiveness. This direction recognizes that the effort to develop the capacity to compete globally is not limited to export industries alone but extends to domestic market-oriented industries and support services. Therefore, it emphasizes the need to increase the value-added in export industries, undertake diversification strategies in terms of products and markets, and develop a strong local base and domestic linkages for the export industry, firmly-rooted in various regions of the country. In developing global competitiveness, the macroeconomic environment and policy framework that will support an export development agenda is emphasized. Beyond this, the microeconomic factors that will sustain real competitiveness must also be addressed. OBJECTIVES The Plan provides the direction to achieve an export performance of US$34 billion for 19991 and maintain average annual export growth rates of 15% over years 2000 and 2001. Towards this end, the necessary policy environment, strategies and programs, institutional support