The Philippines will ramp up its efforts to enhance exports next year after the United States (US) granted exemptions to more than $1-billion worth of agricultural exports from the 19-percent reciprocal tariff, according to its top Agriculture official.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel on Wednesday, Nov. 19, welcomed the new tariff exemptions by the Trump administration, saying that this has calmed the “anxiety” within the agriculture sector.

“Before, you didn’t know when the tariff would come out or what the tariff was. You couldn’t predict, you stop everything,” said Tiu Laurel in a chance interview.

“Now that the path is clear, people can plan, invest, and expand. So that’s good,” he added.

Last week, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) granting additional exemptions from reciprocal tariffs, covering agricultural products that are not produced in the US.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque announced on Tuesday, Nov. 18, that Philippine goods covered by this new policy include coconuts, fruit juices, confectionery goods, tuna filets, and dried fruits, among others.

Based on government data, the exempted products generated over $1 billion in export revenues last year.

Taking advantage of this development, Tiu Laurel said the DA is planning to scale up its programs to foster agricultural production, which aims to support the government’s push for more exports.

“Our President’s order is to support all of our export products. And that will be our banner program for next year. Besides producing more, next year will be export, export, export,” he explained.

Tiu Laurel said the government’s export strategy for agricultural products will be a whole-of-government approach, tapping agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to act as “salesmen.”

As the focal point of this strategy, he said the government will identify 10 crops to serve as the country’s flagship exports.

While he did not offer other details, the DA Secretary said these would be commodities that the Philippines would be able to supply to other countries without disruption.

Apart from this, the DTI said last Tuesday that it will work with the DA to ensure the competitiveness of coconut products, which are the country’s top agricultural shipments to the US.

United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) chairman Marco Reyes welcomed the government’s move, although he noted that the market situation and demand for coconut products will likely remain the same, as Trump’s exemption order was a blanket policy.

“This means that all coconut exporters to the US will be at parity in terms of competitiveness,” he said in a Viber message. “As for the Philippines, we are the leading exporter of coconuts to the US. That will remain the same.”

Reyes told Manila Bulletin that the most urgent concern the government should address is the tight supply of coconuts, with the sector still reeling from the impact of El Niño.

Given the uncertainties in geopolitics, he added that there should be a concerted effort to expand market access beyond the US and Europe. Dependence on these two markets is a “very big weakness” that cannot be ignored, he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) president Danilo Fausto said the new exemptions are “good news” for the agriculture sector since they would further strengthen exports to the US.

“We can anticipate increased demand, which will boost our local production,” he told Manila Bulletin.

Fausto, however, cautioned that the government must still balance the needs of the sector by safeguarding its key products, as a reciprocal tariff deal with the US has not yet been secured.

In July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. offered to remove the tariffs against American-made cars, soy, wheat, and pharmaceutical products in exchange for reducing the country’s tariff rate to 19 percent from 20 percent.

To date, negotiations for the tariff deal are still ongoing.

Without a formal agreement in place, agriculture group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said the government should be transparent on whether there is a formal commitment that the initial zero-tariff offer will no longer be adopted.

SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet expressed concern that the country may have offered concessions in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, as well as in the semiconductor and electronics industries, in exchange for the exemptions.

“What we are still awaiting from our trade negotiators is meaningful progress toward reducing the 19-percent reciprocal tariff, a benchmark that many other countries have already achieved,” added Cainglet in a statement.