Presiding over the Senate Committe on Economic Affairs hearing yesterday, Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri expressed his disappointment over failure by the Executive Department to update the Senate on their trade negotiations with the United States.
The Commitee called for the hearing to discuss the trade deal between the Philippines and the U.S. and the economic impact of the imposition of the 19 percent tariff on Philippine exports.
“I must say that I am a bit disappointed that our executive officials have kept us in the dark on this tariff agreement with the US. Not a single official from the executive has approached us in the Senate or volunteered to brief us on the status or outcome of the trade negotiations with the US. And that’s why we called for this hearing,” Zubiri said.
“Let me remind the executive officials here. Tariffs are not the sole domain of the Executive. It is a delegated authority to the President by Congress. And therefore, it is primarily in the realm of congressional powers. So do not keep us blind-sided with the final outcome of the ongoing negotiations. That is our request,” he added.
